Little Lion Man
by cheeses
Summary: It's 1930's America, the Depression has hit and the economy has plummeted. Jane Rizzoli takes it upon herself to make her own way in life even if it means dressing up as a man, falling in love with a ranch owners wife and being framed for murder. R&R?
1. Chapter 1

It's 1930's America, the Depression has hit and the economy has plummeted. Jane Rizzoli takes it upon herself to try and change the front of society even if it means dressing up as a man, moving across country and falling in love with a ranch owners wife, Maura Isles. (Bashing-Mice of Men)

**Bashing of, Of Mice and Men, if you're wondering why, my Literature exam is in 2 days, I need all the motivation I can get for it. Even if it means using Rizzoli and Isles to get an A. The frame work is from Of Mice and Men, I don't own it, nor would I really want to. I don't own Rizzoli and Isles either.**

**The whole fic has been edited in places.**

* * *

Slipping in and out of restlessness, Jane Rizzoli sat up and stared into the black abyss of her bedroom. The outline of her wardrobe was illuminated with the ever impending sun light of dawn.

Her bed creaked with the shift of weight as she crept from under the itchy blankets and padded across to her open bedroom window.

The sound of Boston was dumb, but there.

The distant call of a cat, crashing bins and the distinct click of high heels on the sidewalk under her window, all seemed out of place for the eldest Rizzoli sibling. Her two brothers still slept in the bed to the side of her, their shallow breathing mismatched and a stinging reminder that she had a life in Boston as well as a new, brighter life that she would soon step into. Jane took a long while to stare through the crack in the curtain, so her eyes roamed the city sky line.

The raven haired woman then turned back and sighed.

Jane glanced over to her sleeping brothers, then to her unmade bed, probably still warm from where she'd been lay.

Jane rolled her shoulders and pulled a note from the denim jacket she'd pulled on three hours previously to quicken up the processes of departure when she awoke.

The paper was crinkled and stained, she set in down on her pillow attentively. By laying it down, the euphoria of her plan acted like adrenalin. Jane scooped up the working boots, formerly of her Father's and slung them over her shoulder, the laces on both shoes tied with a string to hold them. She pulled her hair back under a black cap, only leaving a few shorter strands to frame the left side of her face.

Jane picked up the blanket roll she'd made, collecting only stolen food from the kitchen and a flask of water, along with a few sentimental items.

She took one last look around her bedroom; the look was sorrowful, but stern, then slipped away from her family.

The dusty air of a gravely track was humid.

The only shade to be found was under the willows and former, spindly branched apple trees.

On the sand bank of a tiny creak, small insects swarmed above the still water's edge. From the direction of the state highway came the sound of footsteps on the fallen crisp leaves. For a moment the place was lifeless, and then a lone traveller emerged from the path and came into the opening by the creak. She'd been walking down the track, eyes on her surroundings, the land that would give her a new life, a new beginning.

She was content with it, it's what she'd set out to do.

Clad in baggy denim trousers, with a grey ill-fitting raw notch tee, covered by a worn denim jacket and heavy black working boots, she was sure she'd pass for a man.

Hair tied back into a shapeless black cap and carrying a tightly wrapped blanket roll, she held her head like a true male.

She'd taken enough time to study them, their nature washed off on her, she'd been raised around boys, she was confident she could keep her identity hidden.

She stopped by the bank and took off her cap, not before looking around her to make sure she was alone.

She set the blanket roll down beside her and crouched down, aching and sweating from her walk, she let her hands settle in the water before splashing it onto her face and rubbing her neck with it.

Her sleeves dampened with the droplets that fell from her hands, so rolled them up to expose long, slender arms, well-toned from work at her Pop's old farm. Her skin was olive, a tone not many possessed around her former habitat.

She was of Italian decent, dark brown eyes, framed with dark lashes and raven hair all indicated that of a woman who possessed beauty, but of a fierce, defined nature.

Her sharp cheek bones and jaw line helped when it came to her adventure into the male world, if she gave the right look, talked the right talk, she'd easily gain acceptance without any questions.

Her thin hands, nimble and used to labour picked at the soil at the water's edge; it was an act of therapy, to calm her nerves before she walked a few more miles to her intended destination. The ranch in Soledad.

She was expected by the Boss and sure as hell was ready for it; she had her story planned out perfectly.

She'd pose as one of her brother's, change the name from Jane to something like... she pondered for a few minutes, she'd thought of everything but a name.

James was the easiest option; it was simple to remember and a far too common name for anyone to enquire into.

Jane smiled to herself and lay back, her over heated flesh caused her to feel woozy.

She listened to the rustle of the leaves and the skittering of the animals, if she wasn't so pressed for time, she'd sure stay, but money was more important than daydreaming, her Ma had made it clear as soon as her Pop had gone out of business, her brothers too.

Jane sighed and closed her eyes; her eye lids were pink and showed all the veins as the sun glared down through the branches.

She didn't have much father to travel, maybe she could stay for a little longer, she'd run the rest of the stretch, she didn't mind.

Yeah, she'd stay... just until she had the stamina to get back up. Sod time and money the dirt was comfortable.

The bunk house was a long, rectangular building, with faded wood panels and rusty window joints. Inside, the walls were whitewashed, with cracks in the aged paint. The bunk house possessed a solid door with a wooden latch. Against the walls were eight bunks, five of them made up with blankets and the other three showing their burlap ticking. Over each bunk there was nailed an apple box with the opening forward so that it made two shelves for the personal belongings of the occupant of the bunk. And these shelves were loaded with little articles, soap and talcum powder, razors and those Western magazines ranch men love to read and scoff at and secretly believe. There were medicines on the shelves, and little vials, combs; and from nails on the box sides, a few neckties. Near one wall there was a black cast-iron stove, its stovepipe going straight up through the ceiling. In the middle of the room stood a big square table littered with playing cards, and around it were grouped boxes for the players to sit on. At ten o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden beam through one of the side windows, and in and out of the beam flies shot like rushing stars.

The wooden latch rose, squeaking. The door opened and a tall, stoop-shouldered old man came in. He was dressed in blue jeans and he carried a big push-broom in his left hand. Behind him came Jane, tired eyed and weary.

"The boss was expectin' you last night," the old man said. "He was sore as hell when you wasn't here to go out this morning." He pointed with his right arm, and out of the sleeve came a round stick-like wrist, but no hand. Jane was tempted to recoil, but witnessed the old man's distaste in his severed limb, so she stood emotionless.

"You can have that bed there," he said, indicating the bunk near the stove. Jane stepped over and threw her blankets down on the burlap sack of straw that was meant to act as a mattress. The old man hadn't indicated that she was a girl, but he was old, he probably couldn't tell a dollar from a leaf.

Jane unrolled her bindle and began to place things on the shelf above her bunk. From her belongings, she saved a small key, hung from a piece of looped string and slid it over her head to settle around her neck.

The old man watched her without any rousing suspicion; she had all the belongings of a worker.

The aged man piped up again,

"I guess the boss'll be out here in a minute. He was sure burned when you wasn't here this morning. Come right in when we was eatin' breakfast and says,Where the hell's that new man?' An' he give the stable buck hell, too."

Jane patted a wrinkle out of her bed, and sat down.

"Sure. Ya see the stable buck's a coloured fella."

Jane adjusted her cap and let the man keep talking, but didn't care much for his repetitive wittering.

"Yeah. Nice fella too. Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him. The boss gives him hell when he's mad. But the stable buck don't give a damn about that. He reads a lot. Got books in his room."

Jane smiled, read a lot; she'd go and ask if she could borrow a couple of books to pass the time.

"What kind of a guy is the boss?" she asked.

"Well, he's a pretty nice fella. Gets pretty mad sometimes, but he's pretty nice. Tell ya what—know what he done Christmas? Brang a gallon of whisky right in here and says, 'Drink hearty, boys. Christmas comes but once a year.'"

"The hell he did! Whole gallon?"

"Yes sir. Jesus, we had fun."

The wooden latch rose again and the door opened. A little stocky man stood in the open doorway. He wore blue jean trousers, a flannel shirt, a black, unbuttoned vest and a black coat. His thumbs were stuck in his belt, on each side of a square steel buckle. On his head was a soiled brown Stetson hat, and he wore high-heeled boots and spurs to prove he was not a labouring man.

The old swamper looked quickly at him, and then shuffled to the door rubbing his whiskers with his knuckles as he went. "Just got in," he said, and shuffled past the boss and out the door.

The boss stepped into the room with the short, quick steps of a fat-legged man.

"I wanted a man this morning" he glared at Jane. "You got your work slip?"

Jane reached into her pocket and produced the slip and handed it to the boss.

"Says right here on the slip that you was to be here for work this morning."

Jane looked down at her feet.

"Bus driver give me a bum steer," she said, not also mentioning the fact she'd gotten lazy.

"I hadda walk ten miles. Says I was here when I wasn't. I couldn't get no rides in the morning."

The boss squinted, his pink face made his resemble a pig.

"Well, I had to send out the grain teams short of a bucker. Won't do any good to go out now till after dinner."

He pulled his time book out of his pocket and opened it where a pencil was stuck between the leaves. Jane scowled at herself; she sure knew how to piss someone off.

Great first day.

The boss licked his pencil.

"What's your name?"

"James Rizzoli" she was glad her voice was already naturally deep and due to her lack of water, a lot huskier.

"Rizzoli?" the Boss scratched his chin, Jane winced for a moment but almost let out a sigh of relief when he grinned. "Don't get names like that 'round here"

Jane smiled gingerly.

"I guess"

The name was entered in the book.

"Le's see, this is the twentieth." He closed the book. "Where you been working?"

"Up around Weed," Jane lied; she prided herself in her cover story.

"Why'd you quit in Weed?"

"Job was done," said Jane promptly.

"What kinda job?"

"I . . . . I was diggin' a cesspool."

"All right. But don't try to put nothing over, 'cause you can't get away with

nothing. I've seen wise guys before; go out with Slim's team, always with Slim"

"Slim?"

"Yeah. Big tall skinner. You'll see him at dinner." He turned abruptly and went to the door, but before he went out he turned and looked for a long moment at Jane.

When the sound of his footsteps had died away, Jane breathed out and felt eyes on her.

The old man came slowly into the room. He had his broom in his hand. And at his heels there walked a dragfooted sheepdog, gray of muzzle, and with pale, blind old eyes. The dog struggled lamely to the side of the room and lay down, grunting softly to himself and licking his grizzled, moth-eaten coat. The swamper watched him until he was settled.

He was about to speak, his lips parted ready for a sentence when at that moment a young man came into the bunk house; a thin young man with a brown face, with brown eyes and a head of tightly curled hair. He wore a work glove on his left hand, and, like the boss, he wore high-heeled boots.

"Seen my old man?" he asked.

The swamper said.

"He was here jus' a minute ago, Curley. Went over to the cook house, I think."

"I'll try to catch him," said Curley. His eyes passed over the new man and he stopped. He glanced coldly at Jane. His arms gradually bent at the elbows and his hands closed into fists. He stiffened and went into a stoop. His glance was pugnacious.

Jane frowned at his action.

Curley stepped gingerly close to her.

"You the new guy the old man was waitin' for?"

"Yeah, jus' come in"

Curley stared levelly at Jane, examining her.

Jane tried not to move, but square up to him also, to ward off his observation.

She didn't like the look of him, he looked ratty and irritable.

He turned toward the door and walked out, and his elbows were still bent out a little.

Jane watched him go, and then he turned back to the swamper.

"Say, what the hell's he got on his shoulder? I didn't do nothing to him."

The old man looked cautiously at the door to make sure no one was listening.

"That's the boss's son," he said quietly. "Curley's pretty handy"

"Well, let him be handy," said Jane. "He don't have to take after me, I didn't do nothing to him"

The swamper considered.

"Curley's like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. Kind of like he's mad at 'em because he ain't a big guy. You seen little guys like that, ain't you? Always scrappy?"

"Sure," said Jane, she'd seen her share fair trying to hit on her. "I seen plenty tough little guys. But this Curley better not make no mistakes about me, I ain't handy, but this Curley punk is gonna get hurt if he messes around"

Talk the talk, she was doing fine.

"Well, Curley's pretty handy," the swamper said skeptically. "Never did seem right to me."

Jane watched the door.

"S'pose"

Would she really fight him? Probably, she had no problem with it.

The old man sat down on another box.

"Don't tell Curley I said none of this. He'd slough me. He just don't give a damn. Won't ever get canned 'cause his old man's the boss."

"This guy Curley sounds like a son-of-abitch to me. I don't like that sorta guy." Jane had an odd memory of Jack Rossen, a boy next door, a tiny boy with a tiny brain, she shoved him into a pond for trying to kiss her, back when she was fourteen.

"Seems to me like he's worse lately," said the swamper. "He got married a couple of weeks ago. Wife lives over in the boss's house. Seems like Curley is cockier'n ever since he got married."

Jane grunted, "Maybe he's showin' off for his wife."

The swamper warmed to his gossip.

"You seen that glove on his left hand?"

"Yeah. I seen it."

"Well, that glove's fulla vaseline."

"Vaseline? What the hell for?" but she soon got the idea, it was soon confirmed.

"Well, I tell ya what—Curley says he's keepin' that hand soft for his wife."

Jane grimaced.

"Whoa, okay, yeah, that's enough information for anybody"

"Wait'll you see Curley's wife."

Jane raised her eyebrows.

"Purty?" she asked casually.

"Yeah. Purty . . . . but—"

Jane studied the man's face. "But what?"

"Well—she got the eye."

"Yeah? Married two weeks and got the eye? Maybe that's why Curley's pants is full of ants."

"I seen her give Slim the eye. Slim's a jerkline skinner. Hell of a nice fella. An' I seen her give Carlson the eye."

Jane pretended a lack of interest.

"Looks like I'm gonna have fun."

The swamper stood up from his box.

"Know what I think?" Jane didn't answer. "Well, I think Curley's married . . . a tart."

"He ain't the first," said Jane. "There's plenty done that."

The old man moved toward the door, and his ancient dog lifted his head and peered about, and then got painfully to his feet to follow.

"I gotta be settin' out the wash basins for the guys. The teams'll be in before long. You guys gonna buck barley?"

"Yeah."

"You won't tell Curley nothing I said?"

"Hell no."

"Well, you look her over, mister. You see if she ain't a tart." He stepped out

the door into the brilliant sunshine.

Jane bit on her lower lip, she'd sure look her over, just to see if the old man was right.

Surly, she couldn't be a tart.

She felt protective, no woman should be the gossip of men.

A brake screeched outside. A call came, "Stable—buck. Oh! Sta-able buck."

Jane had retired to sit on her bunk, when the voice interrupted her daydreaming.

Should she be more nervous than this? Surely she should, but in a way, she felt more at home than ever.

Jane then looked up from the gap in the floorboards, she'd been staring at, for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off. A girl, a woman was standing there looking in.

Two large, hazel eyes looked at her, almost like she was inspecting every aspect of her anatomy.

Jane squirmed under the woman's gaze.

Bronze/blond hair framed her face, her lips were soft, with a baby pink tint, she had a sharp nose and fair skin. Angelic to say the least.

She wore a black day dress and black heels, looking far to dressy for the setting. Her figure held a proud bosom, but it wasn't exposed like Jane had been led to think

The woman possessed curves that could be admired.

It's what Jane's Ma would surely call a Vogue woman.

This woman was surely not the pinnacle of all the gossip.

"Have you seen Curley?" she spoke his name with a bitterness.

Jane shook her head, her accent was sharp, to formal and poised to belong to that of a local girl.

"He came in here, then back out, not after grillin' me 'bout simply breathing"

She smiled, her dimples were prominent. This new worker was amusing, not like the others, he spoke on the same level, no cat calls or innuendos about her questions.

"He is, intense" she shrugged.

"_Sure_, you could say that" Jane huffed and realised who she was meant to be and who she was talking to. "Sorry, I didn't mean ta.."

"It's fine, honestly" she wafted her hand in dismissal to Jane's rambling.

"Can you recall the direction he was headed?"

Jane felt a smile creep upon her lips, this woman's posture, the air around was that of aristocracy.

"Left I think" Jane then grinned. "If I_ recall_, correctly" she joked, the woman's smile broadened.

Jane got a kick from it.

"Thank you... sorry, I didn't catch your name"  
"That's because I didn't throw it" Jane smirked, the woman didn't get it, so Jane recovered by answering.

"James Rizzoli"

"Italian?"  
"Only by decent, Ma'am" Jane soon regretted calling her Ma'am, but she didn't seem to mind.  
"Please, I'm no Ma'am" she brushed her dress down before talking again. "Just Maura"

"Well hi, _just_ Maura"

Maura arched an eyebrow at Jane.

"You are different" she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, almost in the fashion of a Doctor.

Jane suddenly felt a cold sweat infect her, Maura had guessed already? Shit.

"You're refreshing" Maura stated and patted the frame of the door. "I better go, I'm probably wanted else where"

_Yes, here, stay._

Jane thought desperately, but responded with.

"Hope I could help" Jane scratched the back of her neck.

"Thank you for it" Maura gave her another brief grin before leaving, her heals clapped on the wood then faded as they met the dusty ground.

Really?

Maura didn't seem to have the eye for anything apart from knowledge, Jane had picked that up, the woman just wanted to know everything.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you the reviews and the story alerts ect.**

**Yes, I have taken quite a chunk out of the book and just put it in, BUT thanks for the warning of plagiarism, as mentioned, even thought it was never intended. Good thing this chapter is getting into the swing of things, because it's changing.**

**I have taken the advice from the reviews (much appreciated). **

**Of Mice and Men doesn't belong to me, nor would I want it to. **

**Rizzoli and Isles doesn't belong to me either.**

Although there was an evening brightness showing through the windows of the bunk house, inside it was dusk. Through the open door came the thuds and occasional clangs of a horseshoe game, then the sound of voices raised in approval or derision.

Slim and Jane came into the darkening bunk house together. Slim reached up over the card table and turned on the tin-shaded electric light. Instantly the table was brilliant with light.

Slim sat down on a box and Jane took her place opposite.

Another ranch worker passed them, giving Jane a heavy pat on her shoulder as he walked to his bunk.

"Good work today new guy"

Instead of Jane, Slim laughed. It was a raspy sound and he shook his head in the direction of Jane.

"I never seen such a worker. He damn near killed his partner buckin' barley. There aint nobody can keep up with him. God awmighty,"

Jane was bemused of the appraisal, she was used to the work and it was nothing to her. Jane almost burst into laughter herself, she was working with men and being praised by them for being strong. Not many women could say they'd been called strong in the society she lived in.

"Jus' doin' my job"

"Damn fine job" Slim added and rolled his shoulders. "So tell me, how does a skinny guy like you get so strong huh?"

Jane shifted uncomfortably.

"Dunno"

"You gotta know, God jus didn't give you it, you work hard for a skill like that"

"I was just raised on a farm, that's all" Jane shrugged and picked at the hem of her jacket. Another thread to her cover story.

"What? Lifting cows?"

Laughter arose behind her, she didn't like the spotlight at the best of times, now surrounded by men all talking about her physical ability, she wanted to crawl under a rock.

"Tell ya what" Slim had a large grin on his lips, his eyes God like and gleaming. "Next pay day, I'll buy you a drink, if you beat me in tomorrow in the amount of barley you buck, if you lose, you have to tell me your little trade secret of bein' hella strong"

Jane shrugged, a drink was a drink and what_ guy _would pass it?

"Sure thing" she grinned. "But you'll be outta pocket if you want a re-match"

"Fighting talk" Slim laughed again and held his hand out, Jane took it in a firm shake. "You're on Rizzoli"

The conversation settled into idle banter after that, just random talk that no one would really recall after.

"So you seen Curley's wife?" Slim asked, pulling out a deck of cards. The light outside had long faded and the smog from the cigarettes lit around them pooled in the air.

"Oh" Jane was surprised of the change of topic from farms to her. "Yeah"

"Real doll ain't she" Slim didn't seem to back his own words, he was too distracted with another aspect of the woman but didn't share this thoughts.

"Talks too much though" a man spoke out from the back, a few sounds of hurried agreements followed.

Jane furrowed her brow.

"Talks too much? She talks just fine" Jane defended, a few of the men hushed down, but exchanged smirks.

"Women ain't supposed to talk like _that_ though" another man, with a nasally voice spoke.

"Like what?" Jane turned in her chair, with a glare.

"All, educated, round these parts, it's just queer"

"So you'd rather like a girl with no brains?" Jane tried to refrain from making her voice to snappy. Her chest welled with anger, her nostrils flared.

"Hell, you sound like my sister" Slim chuckled, taking Jane's words lightly. "Nah, what he means is, a girl with brains ain't likely to go for guys like us, if she has no brains, she won't know the difference"

"_Slim_, what _I_ mean is" the man replied. "I don't wanna a woman to talk, I want woman to be there for me, my _needs_"

Jane set her jaw.

"Well, your _needs _aint ever going to be met with talk like that" Jane stood up and walked over to her bunk, stopping all movement when he spoke again.

"You sayin' you think women are there for talkin? Cakes and babies I say"  
Jane span around and the bunk house fell silent. The smog seemed to part with her words.

"You know I'd like to see through you're perspective, but I can't seem to get my head that far up your damn ass"

The man with the nasally voice stood up, his face red.

Slim stood up and set a hand on Jane's shoulder, it was that of a father.

"James, he don't mean nothin' by it, don't get so riled" Slim shot a warning glance to the worker who had started to approach Jane with a fist.

Jane shrugged out of Slims hold and left the bunk house.

Upon leaving she could hear disapproving slurs from most of the men.

The light from the open door light half of the land, but Jane walked out of its glow and into the shadows, down to the barn.

"Fuckin'" Jane hissed and kicked a stone out of her path, it spat up earth and hit the side of the barn with a small click.

"James?" a voice spoke from behind her. Jane jack-rabbited and tried to compose herself.

"Maura?"

Maura was dressed in an oversized trench coat, probably Curley's.

"What are you doin' out here?" Jane breathed, like if they talked any louder, she'd get shot.

"Why are _you _out here?"

"Do you always answer a question with a question?" Jane didn't mean to sound harsh, but was still irritated with the men back in the bunk house. Maura looked offended.

"Hell, sorry Maura, I just… the guys" Jane motioned back to the bunk house.

Maura then understood from the glint in his eyes to the tight expression, the ranch workers had said something controversial.

"What happened?" she offered a kind smile and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat.

"Just some guy being piggish" Jane wafted her hand and pinched the bridge of her nose. Maura reached out and rubbed Jane's left bicep.

"Care for a walk?"

Jane gave a hopeful smile but shied away from the woman's touch.

"Sure thing" her voice was louder now, it echoed around the dirt and wooden structures.

They walked in the direction of the fields.

"What did he say?" Maura spoke easily, like they'd been friends for years.

"Just stuff about women, cakes and babies, all that fuckin' trash" Jane gritted her teeth but calmed under Maura's stare.

"There's a lot of that going around, probably due to the high levels of testosterone and the primal instinct to be, how do you put it..."

"Top dog?" Jane offered and Maura nodded.

"Exactly, Curley does it all the time, his height really does bother him, he hates it when I wear heels, I'm 5'6 near enough with them on, 5'4 without, he is 5'5 and the difference..." Maura sighed. "He gets angry"

Jane peered at Maura, just to hear a woman talk. To know she was with a woman of high social class, someone who, like her, didn't really belong made Jane feel comforted. They were a minority against a majority.

"I know it sounds, I dunno, forward, but why him?" Jane shrugged and listened to their footsteps hit the gravelly earth more or less at the same pace.

"I had no choice. My Father was a business man, when his firm closed, being the head, he suffered from it" Maura soon looked sad, Jane's shoulders slumped.

"I didn't mean to pry"

"It's fine, it's nice to finally talk to someone about it, really... so he took his own life, my Mother was ill anyway, she died a month after and here I am"

"I'm sorry about it"

Maura tilted her head back and let out a small chuckle, it left Jane bemused.

"Funny to think, people are sorry about things that they could never prevent, but thank you for the concern"

"I woulda prevented it if I knew you" Jane soon bit her tongue and her eyes widened. Maura smiled and stopped walking for a moment to take in the taller man.

"That's sweet" she sighed and continued to walk. "How selfish of me, I haven't asked about you"

"No need, there isn't much to tell"

"Your eyes say different" Maura stated.

"I was born in Boston, I've got a brother" she spoke bluntly.

"Older or younger?" Maura's hand brushed against Jane's, the woman jumped at the sudden touch.

"Younger"

"You are protective of him"

"How did you..."

"I don't just read books" Maura replied smartly.

"I must be a real page turner" Jane smirked.

"I'm just on the first chapter"

They flirted carelessly until they came to the edge of the fields.

"I liked this" Maura stared ahead, looking across the moon light barley. It swayed in the breeze, it imitated a grey sea, much like the ones in silent movies.

Jane crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's nice to get out" Maura sighed.

Jane chuckled; it was almost a sad sound. This woman was too pretty and too smart to be married to a bone head like Curley.

"I don't think I'd enjoy being married"

Jane was already heading back to the bunk house when she spoke, her foot steps crunched like a backing track to their words. Maura soon followed.

"Why?" Maura quizzed.

"I don't really like, I dunno, settling" voiced next to Maura, the idea seemed garish, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Is that why you chose to work?" Maura pondered.

"I guess and get huge guns" Jane mocked, grinning as she flexed to back up her light hearted joke.

"I do have to say, under those baggy clothes, you do have a rather good ratio"

"Ratio?"

"Good proportion of muscle and bone structure"

"Charmed" Jane laughed and Maura chuckled.

"Nobody really laughs like that around me" she seemed saddened again.

"Because they clearly can't see past the obvious" Jane rolled her eyes thinking back to the worker at the bunk house.

"The obvious being?"

"Your looks and gender" Jane huffed. "If you are a woman around here or around anywhere, men just wanna use you, I'm tired of it, I wanna see a change"

Maura puzzled at him and his passion, but agreed whole heartedly.

"It sounds like you know what you're talking about"

Jane blushed, she was thankful that it was dark or Maura would have witnessed her fluster.

"I just had an impressionable Ma" Jane covered.

"James" Maura started but the slam of a door and then a mesh screen interrupted them. The sound was distant but not to go unnoticed.

"Maura!" Curley's voice was shrill in the night air.

"Life calls" Maura rolled her eyes and took a glance at James, he looked as disappointed as she felt.

"Tomorrow night" Maura whispered and gave a small smile before jogging off to hinder Curley's persistent shouts. Jane stuffed her hands into her pockets with a grin then headed back to the bunk house, carrying herself proudly.

The morning haze supplied a golden light across the bunkhouse. It warmed the floor and made the men wake, blinking and assured that today, like many others was a hot one.

Jane was already awake; she'd been up for the best part of an hour. She'd washed and dressed in solitude.

Jane sat by the fields, watching an episode of sparrows flit through the air, her legs curled up to her chest and her head rested on her knees.

Today was just yesterday and today would be tomorrow.

The distant muffled stomps of feet and raised voices indicated that most of the men had woken.

The opening of a door, then a bug screen also meant Curley was awake. Jane heard his instant calls to his father first, and then when receiving no answer from his aloof calls, he resorted to calling Maura.

Jane got to her feet and dusted herself off, irritated by Curley's bratty behaviour.

They weren't dogs someone could summon, they were people, his family no less and he should treat them with respect.

Jane rolled her eyes when Maura's clattering heels sounded on the decking and she came out to ease her 'husbands' childish turmoil of absent affection.

She didn't have to go to him, she could ignore him.

Curley's voice rose again, this time in a groggy series shouts. Jane couldn't pin what he was saying any more, but she knew Maura wasn't getting a word in.

Jane was urged to go over and look, like Maura was her business to, but really, she had no right. She adjusted her cap and walked back over to the group of men with slumped shoulders.

Slim was waiting for her, his eyes still glazed with sleep and his face dripped with water from his quick wash.

"You ready for today?"

"You ready to get beat?" Jane brushed off her earlier concern with Maura and Curley to indulge in the prospect of the day that lay ahead.

"Try to Rizzoli"

As noon approached and the sun glared down on the ranch as if to boil it in gold, the men neared a break. The idea of water was too promising to their parched mouths. Jane had shed her jacket; I was hung on a distant fence while she worked. Slim was slacking; the sun had been cruel to the older man. Jane grunted as she finished loading the last of the barley, she witnessed the man lagging, wincing as he did so.

She'd won.

Jane was content with her victory, her superior skill, it welled her chest with pride. Slim dabbed his brow and tilted his head to her, his praise was short lived. Slim soon doubled over breathless and Jane soon knew, he'd worked himself too hard. Jane wiped her hands on her shirt and jogged over to him, the barley stalks moved with her in a fluid sea.

"Slim" she patted his shoulder, he rose, red in the face.

"Yeah" he rasped.

"I doesn't matter 'bout the drink, I think you need it more than me" Jane looked around; men were still working, busy in their own work to really care about Slim's unhealthy posture.

"Is there a Doctor around here?" Jane whispered, she knew the man might appreciate it if she didn't shout about his weakness.

"Closest thing we got is Curley's wife" his rasped and winced.

"Maura…" Jane scratched the back of her neck and rubbed his back. "We'll go"

The pair stumbled from the field and walked down the track back to the ranch. A few men passed but didn't enquire into their intention of walking back.

"Stay here" Jane pointed to a log, worn by the many who had sat on it.

"I'm not goin' anywhere" Slim tried to make his voice stronger, less raspy, but it just came out as a groan.

"What's up? I need to tell her before I go barging in" Jane gulped, seeing the man's blotchy features.

"Jus a bad pain 'cross my chest, damn hurts, can't damn breathe"

"Got it" Jane didn't want to jump to anything, but a heart attack was an educated guess.

Jane jogged the rest of the way; her boots made a heavy thud on the dirt and kicked small stones from her wake.

Jane neared Curley's house, it was a simple building, chipped paint around the windows and a dusty porch. A small cat sat on the window ledge, the animal flinched when Jane stepped on the porch.

She rapped on the bug screen, five rushed hits.

Jane waited to hear approaching footsteps from inside, but nothing happened. Jane sighed and looked around, she dashed to the left window and glared through the dusty pane, nobody was in.

Jane scratched her jaw and peered around, there was a white picket fence.

_How cliché_

Jane thought and noticed a gate as it swung in the breeze.

Maura could be out back.

Jane vaulted over the porch banister, the ancient wood creaked with her weight but she made the vault without any strain.

Jane slipped past the gate and peered into the garden; they'd managed to grow grass, some apple trees and had a bird bath.

She smirked at it, but didn't forget her true intent on trespassing. She caught a glimpse of Maura, sat under one of the older apple trees, huddled with a glass of pink lemonade and a book.

Jane leant on the fence and smiled to herself.

Maura's dress was simple; it was red with quarter length sleeves, it came down to her knees and tucked in at her waist, complimenting her shape.

Jane coughed to grab Maura's attention and before hers could stray from the task at hand.

The blond looked up from her book and jumped, letting her book fall from her lap.

"James" she looked embarrassed, like she'd been caught eating a forbidden food. "Why are you here?" her eyes widened further. "If Curley catches you, I don't know what I'd…"

"Slim says you're a fine Doctor" Jane cut in and rung and the edge of her shirt.

Maura was soon at her feet and headed out of the garden at a fast pace.

"Who's hurt?" he voice was laced with a stern urgency.

"It's Slim" Jane caught up with Maura, the pair of them made their way wordlessly to Silm's aid.

Slim was still red in the face when they arrived, but looked less in pain. His eyes were fixed on their approach.

"Slim" Maura sighed and sat by him. "What's wrong?"

Jane looked down at her feet, she hadn't told her.

"Er, I was meant to tell you… he has…"

"I have chest pains, I can't darn breathe" Slim smiled softly at Jane then at Maura.

"You experienced this after… what exactly?"

"After about four hours of work, I mean, it's happened before, but not like this"

Maura looked at her lap then back at the man.

Jane watched the interaction with quizzical eyes.

"After work? How long have you been experiencing the breathlessness?"

"'Bout good part of two months"

"I'll have to call the local Doctor on this one, but I suspect from the colouring in your face, posture and breathlessness, asthma"

"Asthma"  
"I only suspect it Slim"

"So it could be worse?" his voice was still calm, but his eyes were hard.

"That's what a real Doctor is for Slim" Maura shrugged and looked over at James.

"James, could you go and get him a glass of water?"

Jane nodded at set back of to the bunk house, but was stopped when Maura spoke up again.

"From my house"

Jane turned without complaint and jogged back up to Maura's house. Small birds landed on the ground around the house, but didn't near the porch; the animals knew more than Jane did.

Jane guessed the door was open, so stepped, once again, boldly onto the porch and opened the mesh door.

She pushed the white wood door open and stepped into the dark hallway. The house smelt like cigarette smoke, it seemed to seep from the walls due to the manner of the musk it created. Jane scrunched up her nose and pressed on; she turned left into a lighter coloured room.

A brown sofa sat against the wall, nothing hinted to a home, more like just a space for living and avoiding each other. A wireless, a record player, a few magazines and an old coffee cup all pointed to at least one person living, the other serving.

Jane moved out of the room and down past an old set of stairs, the pantry door hung open at the side, but nothing appeared to be inside.

Jane moved into the kitchen at the end of the hall.

The tile floor was cleaned to a pristine shine; Jane winced as her boots spoiled its shine, the dust shed from the tred of her shoe.

Jane grabbed a glass from the overhead cupboard and made short work of turning the rusty tap to let the water pour in rough splashes into the glass.

As Jane turned, the glass in her left hand, a figure was slumped against the door frame.

"I woulda ask'd who you are, but I sure as hell already know" Curley's voice was sharp and held a growl. Jane set the glass down and searched for the right words, Curley's stiff posture blocked the exit.

"Curley, I'm just gettin' water for Slim"

"Then why the hell you in my house? You bastard"

Jane set her jaw.

"If you let me explain"

Curley broke free from his hunch and swayed up to Jane, his eyes looking her up and down while he walked.

Jane breathed in; sucking in as much toxic oxygen she could before breathing it back out. Curley had the lasting tang of ale.

_Shit. _

"Fight me" Curley shoved Jane back into the counter, his hands landed square in her chest.

She grunted with the force, but didn't fight back, not in Maura's home.

"God damn it! You bastard, fight me!" his eyes were dark, like tunnels as he shoved Jane back again, this time her body lurched side wards into the breakfast table, the legs screeched and a chair clattered to the floor.

"I'm not fighting you Curley" she held her right hip, a sharp pain radiated and shot around her nerves from where the table edge had prodded her.

"Why not? You scared?" Curley huffed, his hands balled into fists, his eyes on the floor more than Jane.

"You're pathetic, you're drunk, hell, just go back outta here"

"Don't tell me what to do" Curley swung for Jane, his body followed his fist, his body lurched forward, Jane moved swiftly out of the way.

"You think cos you are bigger" he slurred, but was too busy trying to regain a confident posture to finish his sentence.

She smiled at her advantage of height and lean form, but staggered back as Curley's fist cracked the right side of her face.

Hey eye stung, her skin throbbed as his skin grazed hers.

"Damn it" Jane cupped the side of her face and tumbled down the hallway, leaning against the dusty wall, dizzy with the impact. Curley stomped after her, shoulders hunched, arms stuck out.

"Take it" Curley grabbed the back of her shirt, the material ripped slightly due to his force. The sound of the breaking fabric made Jane wince.

The door slammed open and close from the increasing breeze outside, no sun light shone in, they fought in the dusty shadows.

Jane's back was slammed against the wall, she let out a grunt and felt the wind leave her lungs from a steady pound to her gut.

She couldn't lose the job.

She couldn't fight Curley.

She couldn't afford to get fired.

"I've not done anything you bastard" Jane panted and Curley swung for her again, but missed, sending his bloody, grazed fist into the wall. He yelled out and cradled his first for a few seconds.

Jane took this as her chance to escape; she barged through the door, snagging the edge of her shirt on the bug screen before tearing away and running the rest of the track. Her ears were filled with her own pulse, her eyes raw with stubborn tears.

"James?!" Maura had already began walking after James. Curious about James' absence. They stumbled blindly into one another.

She gasped as his bloody lip, accompanied at closer inspection with a swollen eye and a raw cheek bone.

"Water hurts" Jane sneered and Maura flustered to aid him.

Maura pinched Jane's chin, it was a soft touch, not intended to harm further or cause any discomfort, it was the touch of inspection.

"It was Curley wasn't it, I'm so sorry" she spat and ushered Slim to sit back down, the man had heard the boy's name and attempted to stand.

"Don't apologise for him, the bastard can come and say sorry himself when he's sober" Jane growled, her intended tone was meant to be harsh, it came out shaky instead. Maura's expression turned from stern to worried.

"He was drunk?"

"Stank of damn ale" Jane slowed her words, feeling Maura's hold loosen. "You okay?"

"Fine" Maura wafted her hand absently and lowered her gaze.

"Maura?" Jane no longer cared about her wounds, the shock of Curley's assault wasn't anything that she'd lose sleep over; it was Maura that attracted her attention. Slim looked over to the pair; he had to crane his neck go get a view of Jane.

The sound of slurred cursing filled the air from down the track. Jane span around, her nerves were tiny bundles of fire.

Curley's footsteps crunched down on the dirt, tipsy and red in the face he came into view.

Maura felt a wave of nausea hit her; she shuddered from its impact.

"Jane, don't" Maura tugged on Jane's sleeve.

"Maura!" he barked, his eyes narrowed when Jane crossed his path again. "Stay away from my wife" he growled, attracting the attention of a few other workers passing.

They stopped, hungry for entertainment, a cheap drama, they craved the outcome of violence.

"Curley" Maura stepped from behind Jane's lean form and still clutched her sleeve. "Go back inside"  
"You take God Damn orders from me Maura"

"She doesn't have to" Jane pressed her left hand on Maura's hip to ward her away from the ever advancing shrimp of a man. His tight hair was dusted with flakes of plaster from his and Jane's previous encounter.

"She hella does, Maura" he jabbed his finger down at the ground.

Maura moved away from Jane's hold and walked to his side, eyes watering and her gaze fixed to the floor in defeat. Slim rose to his feet and hobbled over, his chest still tight.

"Curley, I wanna walk with you" the man's voice was calm.

"The hell you do" Curley spat and looked the man up and down, his face screwed up in disgust.

"I do" Curley stepped in front of Jane, who was stood, jaw set, chest heaving. "Walk with me"

Curley timidly approached Slim, his feet dragged.

"Why do you wanna walk with me?"

"To let you cool off son" Slim rolled his shoulders and out stretched an arm in indication of the direction they would take.

Curley rolled his tongue in his mouth. He stared for a moment, but finally nodded to Slim's offer.

"Ata boy" Slim patted Curley's shoulder, but he shrugged it away, his head hung and paced ahead.

Jane and Maura stared at the older man, his wise eyes fixed on them for brief second.

"Maura, James" he addressed and followed after Curley, his figure far greater than that of the drunks.

The other men who had created a small gathering then shoved each other from the scene, Slim had broken it up, there was nothing to see, but there was the air of talk.

Maura drew a shaky breath, her bottom lip quivered and she covered her eyes with her hand.

"I'm sorry" her voice was small, backed by the distant clanks of horse shoes.

Jane gulped; her throat was dry of saliva and words. She pressed her hand into the small of Maura's back.

"James" Maura removed her hand from over her eyes, the sun light passed her vision in a burst, but the image of James soothed her.

"We'll go to the barn, its quiet" Jane offered, she tried to smile, but her wound prevented the display. Maura stood in silence; she reached around her back and held Jane's hand there, pressing her palm into the tense muscle.

"Yes. Yes please"


	3. Chapter 3

The barn door creaked open; the old hinges ached with a heavy groan. The dusty summer air was lit with the light cast in from the midday sun.

Jane was the first to step in and smell the dusty musk of hay and horses.

To the left of the barn, the feeding racks were visible, through the slats, the disjointed figures of the horses resided. Ropes hung from the rafters, swaying with the breeze created by the opening of the door.

The huff of a horse called out for attention.

She ushered Maura in, knowing if anyone saw them, the news would travel in slurs and gossip.

Jane closed the door behind her, the effort to push the heavy wood made her muscles ache.

Flies hummed lazily in the heated air.

Maura hugged herself and looked around them, her nose up turned to the smell, but not deterred from the comfort and solace the barn provided.

"It's peaceful" Maura breathed, her words just a whisper in Jane's pounding skull.

Jane felt the ripped materiel of her shirt hang from her body and gulped, the saliva wet her parched throat and tangled up her intended words.

Maura approached Jane, her hand was soon on the unharmed side of Jane's face.

"I should really get you something for your wounds"

Jane closed her eyes and breathed, letting the air pool in her lungs. Her chest welled with the dull ache, provided in bountiful waves to the wounds upon her once sensual features.

Maura parted her lips, ready to speak, but Jane beat her to it.

"I'll survive, besides, I think I look a little more, at home, don't ya think?" Jane tried to encourage a smile onto Maura's lips, but with the absence of her own, the task was a hardship.

"Not if Curley catches you with me again" Maura's voice rung out with a sadness.

Jane shifted from one foot to the other and saw that the blond was troubled.

"Well, I better stay out of his way... he can't blame a person for talking"

"He can" Maura looked away bitterly, but her words motioned to Jane's bruised face.

Jane refrained from cursing, Maura had a valid point, it was apparent the unwritten rule was never to speak to Maura, just talk behind her back, spread a web of lies to ward men away from _harm_.

Jane licked her bottom lip, the flesh was leathery with salt. Her eyes stung with dust, so her vision was dim, making her eye lids fall sleepily.

Maura rubbed her thumb along Jane's cheekbone. The blond slipped her other hand to touch Jane's ripped shirt, she rubbed the torn material between her thumb and index finger.

Her body shuddered.

"I'll sow it" Maura offered, her tone was soft, it was something of a distraction.

"You don't have to, I don't mean to be a burden" Jane pulled away from Maura's hold and walked over to the mountain of hay, she sat down in it with in crisp poof. Maura stood where they just had, hands at her side, her gaze on the floor.

"You're not a burden" Maura said quietly.

If it wasn't for her previous sentence, Jane would have been convinced the blond was talking to herself.

"Maur?"

When Maura's shoulders slumped, Jane sat up from her tired slouch.

"It's not your fault"

Maura turned, her eyes red and raw, her cheeks moist with lukewarm tears.

"No, Maura, no" Jane struggled back up to her feet and was soon holding the smaller woman to her. "Don't go crying on me" she added the remark with a casual, humorous tone.

From outside, the shouts and curses of men sounded. The heavy clanks of horse shoes made a background to their mixed language, their distant tongue.

Maura wiped the salty droplets away with the back of her hand.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't mean to be like this, it's just, I'm still not, accustomed to this... lifestyle"

Jane smelt the sweet tang of apple in her hair, on her dress, on her skin.

What life style was she accustomed to?

"Curley should be the man who has to explain himself, not you" Jane gulped. "You said you enjoyed talking" the fact seemed childish to make, a blatant statement that neither women were really sure what to do with.

Maura's hands crept to Jane's midriff, her eyes closed, her tears clung to her eye lashes.

The blond nodded.

"Maura" Jane hummed her name, like a prayer on her broken lips.

The blond traced her fingers along Jane's skin, she savoured the feel of the warmth of another persons body.

"Slim has asthma, it's not uncommon. I did studies on common symptoms of a working male"

Jane licked her lips then responded.

"So I'm better coming to you if I'm feelin' blue?"

"Blue?" Maura questioned, Jane made a small popping sound with her lips then searched for the correct term.

"Under the weather, you know, down"

"Why would a person refer to feeling upset as blue?"

"I don't make the slang Maura" Jane noted lightly. Maura's eyes were reduced with the red inflammation that her tears had caused. Her hazel eyes began to brighten once more.

"Slang shouldn't be used, it causes considerable confusion"

"I think you're the only thing that causes considerable confusion" Jane chuckled.

Her words weren't intended to offend Maura, but from her furrowed brow, Jane had done just that.

"I hardly think I confuse people"

"No, no you don't, but in comparison to other, people around here, your... wording of things, just catches a fella off guard"

"Ah" Maura nodded once, not entirely convinced with Jane's explanation towards her comment.

"You confuse me, in a good way" Jane blurted, trying to convince Maura with as much reassurance as she could muster.

Maura finally let a smile creep upon her lips, it radiated a proud, accomplished expression.

"I'm glad"

"Good" Jane adjusted her cap, Maura's eyes fixed on the movement.

"Why don't you take it off?" Maura walked away from Jane. Her topic of conversation had shifted and changed for the better, but that view could be considerably controversial dependant on which woman.

Jane bit down on her lip.

"I like wearing it"

"Surely not in this heat?"

"I don't mind"

Maura then stood, with her arms crossed and head tilted to the left.

"What?" Jane looked around her bewildered.

Maura grinned to herself, her eyes soft with caring but held tones of concern.

"I'm looking at you James"

"I can see that" she spoke bluntly and made a gesture with her hand between them. "What for?"

"It's just... simple observation"

"Yeah, well, _simple_ observation makes me, feel simple"Jane struggled for words under Maura's gaze.

"Makes _you feel_ simple?"

"Yeah" Jane answered in discomfort and dusted down her shirt, only then took into account her bruised knuckles, raw with blood, probably from where she hit the table and wall.

"I hardly think you can be simple James"

Jane scoffed and stuffed her hands into her pockets.

"Trust me, I'm simple aright"

"Then I mustn't trust you"

"Huh?"

Maura watched as Jane walked over to the feeding racks and gained the attention of the horse there, it clumsily moved over and poked it's nose through the bars, yearning for Jane's attention.

She gave the horse a pat, but nearly jumped when it pushed it's nose further into her touch and huffed.

Unaccustomed to the animal, Jane took a few steps back and listened intently to Maura's explanation.

"I hardly think you are simple, so I don't trust you when you say you are. You appear intelligent and knowledgeable, am I safe to say that you have doubts about yourself?"

Flustered Jane, she felt like she was being lectured by a teacher, she suddenly had a distaste on the subject.

"I'd be a fool to doubt myself around here" Jane spoke stubbornly and Maura patted down her dress, no response graced her lips, she just wore a wondering expression. The blond approached Jane and touched her forearm lightly.

"I should go back" Maura caught herself when her hand got too comfortable.

Jane issued no answer, but the mood was suddenly sour.

"James"

The name rung in Jane's ears.

That was her name now, the reality of it all crashed down in a wave. When Maura pulled away, her warm body leaving Jane's, the raven haired woman nearly drowned in her own emotion.

"Curley will want me in my place, at_ home_"

Jane set her jaw, but nodded once.

Maura didn't consider Curley's decrepit shack of smoke a home, so when the word left her lips it was a strangled sound.

"I have to go" Maura stated and walked from Jane's lean body to the door, then faded back out into the day light.

It had ended abruptly.

Had she said something? Or was it the lack of things being said?

Jane's protest was a simple sting of regret.

If she had acted more like a man, if she'd been bolder, Maura wouldn't have gone.

"Damn it" Jane hissed to herself and glanced over at the approaching Stable-buck. One foot hit the ground in a harder thud than the other.

"Pretty girl ain't she"

"Really? I never noticed" Jane replied dryly, glaring at the barn door, not the man now at her side.

His accent resided in New Orleans, his body had been claimed by a horse, that was Crooks testament.

"That Curley don't treat her right"

"No, he doesn't"

The pair stood with sore eyes staring at the door.

"If Curley went? Would you have her?"

"What sorta question is that?" Jane span to confront the Stable-buck, he had a neutral expression.

"A good one" he wiggled his finger at her and gave a croaky laugh. "You're not the first guy to fall for her, but sure as hell the first guy she likes"

"Should I be proud?" Jane replied, her voice wooden with fresh sarcasm.

"You should watch out" Crook's rolled spit around his mouth then snerched.

"You gonna tell me she's a tart?"

"Nah" Crook's seemed surprised by such a term, his blood shot eyes widened, but saw the hurt upon Jane's face, behind the wounds and stern stare lay a aching fire.

"I'm in no place to call a lady like her that, she's the only God damn person in this place who takes time with me, takes time with anyone"

"So she's just taking time with me?"

"She wants time with you"

"I'll give time for her" Jane's voice trailed off into the dry air.

"Curley will sure as hell steal that time, damn bastard... I was sayin' watch out cos you're gonna have a hella lotta food on your plate with her, it'll spill"

Jane zoned out to the Stable-buck's metaphorical rambling.

Whatever Maura had done to make the men talk about her, make her become the pinnacle of bad words, hideous assumptions and fables, Jane promised herself she'd fight it until she got the real Maura to herself.

The moon washed out the fields, the barley stalks swayed in unison with the breeze.

Jane sat in the midst of the barley, cross legged, she stared between the blades, they created bars in front of her vision.

Her black cap lay beside her, her raven hair cascaded down her back, the wind tugged at the unruly waves.

Jane sighed out, her face still ached, the broken skin stung if she tried to settle her sombre expression.

Jane shed her denim jacket, it slumped to the dirt and she felt the night air upon her thin shirt.

This was her life now, she'd set out to do her family justice, once she got her first pay check, she'd work for the next until her Mother and Father could support themselves again.

Jane lay back, a few blades tumbled back under her weight as she lay, staring through the barley to the sky.

The stars welcomed nothing to comfort her, no blanket of hope for her to cling to like they used to when she was a girl.

No God resided among them.

They reminded her how tiny she really was, how money had no meaning in the sky. Jane smiled as a fantasy loomed in her mind.

The sound of hurried footsteps approached, the gush of parting barley and the thud of disturbed soil made Jane's heart leap into her throat.

She stuffed her hair back into the black cap in hurried fistfuls.

Jane stilled, her breath caught in her throat and eyes trained ahead of her.

The footsteps passed her briskly, a retreating figure blazed away further back into the field, the clatter of the barn door and the clank of boots insured the person in retreat was being pursued.

Jane scrambled back and in the distance saw the glow of a lantern, it appeared to advance on it's own until the crunch of disturbed barley insured it's carrier was very much present.

"You just make it a sport punk" the voice didn't register as an accent Jane had been acquainted with.

Jane crouched low, the figure holding the lantern was tall, looming he had a skinny frame and square shoulders from what Jane could bare witness through the stalks.

The click of a gun made Jane recoil, she held her breath, what could she do? Distract this man away from his target?

"Imma gonna count to three and you are gonna come back or lord help me"

Jane winced.

"One" a few crunches insured advancing steps.

A pause.

"Two"

More steps, neared ever closer to Jane's hidden form. She felt her pulse in her skull, her calves screamed for relief from her prolonged crouch, but she was stubborn.

"Three" the lantern was set down, the glow cast shadows out into the barley, creating the shadow of distorted bars across Jane's face, only then did Jane bare witness to the man.

Snakeskin boots were the only distinct feature to Jane, but she knew she'd remember them.

The click of a trigger sounded, the bullet leapt from it's confines and shortly after a pained grunt and thud sounded a few meters away from Jane.

She wobbled as her stomach lurched, the coppery taste of fear welled up in her mouth and attacked her skin in a fever, but she stayed silent.

The lantern was collected and the crunch of footsteps faded back in the direction of the ranch. Jane fell back, hitting her rear hard on the soil.

A man was surely dead.

Jane struggled to her feet and peered out from the barley, her shoulders tensed and her form hunched painfully.

Jane stumbled forward in a drunken fashion, her mind reeled with a sickening realisation, among the barley lay a corpse.

Jane whipped the barley violently in attempt to get to the body.

The sounds of hurried gasps, a unseen struggle for air made Jane pause in her tracks, but once the sound subsided, she went on.

Jane then came to a patch of disturbed barley, no doubt where the victim had fallen.

Jane's weary, raw eyes roamed over the bloody, wheezing form of Curely. His tight hair was ruffled, his face purple from a beating Jane could only imagine had lasted a good part of half an hour, maybe more but she didn't linger on his now mulberry coloured skin.

The bullet wound rested near his chest, crimson in character and charming in size.

Jane loomed over him, sickened, but unmoved.

"You" he drawled, his lips parted and blood oozed from his reddened lips. Jane recoiled, but kept a stern face.

Anger welled up inside her and she found a gleam of satisfaction as his body lay broken in the barley.

He had deserved what he got.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay in updates, it's been a busy time and writers block struck me down. So enjoy. **

Jane lay on her bunk, her back ridged and flat down on the mattress. She glared up at the roof, the positioning of her body made her nauseous.

The rafters swelled in her blurred vision, her head throbbed with a sickness.

From outside came the shouts... the cries.

They had filled the air from dawn to mid morning, always curses, filling the loss the ranch faced. The uneducated profanities that surrounded the corpse in the barley made Jane ache.

She could have helped him, but the sins of envy and hatred had poisoned her body, it had deterred her from aiding Curley.

Alone and tired, Jane was at loss of something to pre-occupy her racing mind.

The sun lay across her skin from the crack in the window above her head, she felt it's heat begin to burn her olive skin.

The bark of a dog sounded, it's attention caught by the men around it no doubt, it cried out for involvement.

Jane took the bark as a urge to get up, get away from the bunk house, climb from herself loathing and doubting thoughts.

Jane pulled on her boots, her left went on no problem, but her right foot struggled at first but fit snugly thereafter. Jane laced them up, catching the laces between the metal loops and stood up from the task. Dirt still smeared the black leather. Straying a glance closer into the dirt lay streaks of blood. Jane glared down at the redish/brown stains and doubled over to scrub them away with her sleeve. She then pulled off her jacket and threw it onto her bunk disgusted with the muddy blood now on the sleeve. Clad in a white shirt, grubby with dust and trouser suspenders, she sighed, adjusted her cap, then walked from the bunk house and it's heat.

A crowd lined the barley. Their bodies all still and fixed towards the figures tending to the corpse. Jane found a dull amusement in the fact all the men stood at a similar height and clad in similar clothes, they were cogs in a rusty machine.

Jane glanced down at her self, was she too a cog?

The Boss paced, red in the face and shouting profanities at the air. Nobody seemed to bother with him, Jane assumed because the other men were scared of receiving the wrath of his grief. What if the Boss caught sight of her? Would she just look as plain and innocent as the next man?

Flies swarmed the air and buzzed past Jane, she gave them no thought, but nausea knocked her off balance for a few moments, before she could assure herself non of them suspected her.

A lump grew in her throat, so she stayed put her eyes fixed on the group.

Slim was the first of the men to walk to her, but not the first to cast her a glance.

"James" his voice was strong, it took on a rougher tone, one of a leader.

"Slim" Jane crossed her arms over her chest, she tried to make her voice less wooden.

"Curley's been killed"

"Yeah" Jane gulped thickly and kicked up the sandy dirt. The small cloud produced by the action gave Jane a distraction.

Slim wasn't surprised James had nothing to say, no real emotion to display towards the news.

There was a drop in their conversation into silence.

The rattle of chains broke Slim's air of grief.

"I need you to go and look after my bitches pups"

"Huh?" Jane's attention snapped up.

"My bitch... my dog"

"Oh"

"Yeah, she had pups jus' the other week, they'll go crazy if they smell..." Slim jabbed his thumb back at the Barley.

"I get it" Jane shifted from one foot the the other then made her way to the barn, her heart made itself known, thumping in her chest, making her steady pace falter. "Guard the dogs" Jane sighed to herself and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She saw this task as a blessing, she wouldn't have to witness Curley's corpse or run into any of the men until lunch, even then, Jane was sure she had no stomach for food, anxiety had taken care of her diet.

"Oh and kid"

Jane stopped in her tracks.

"Try and not get to attached, those pups are mighty cute, but their Ma is a little protective"

Jane scoffed to herself and reached the barn with a heavy head.

Jane slunk into the solace of the wooden walls and musty air.

Crooks' voice carried through, Jane paid his rambling no attention, instead she fixed her eyes upon the small basket. Jane smiled softly upon hearing the tiny yelps and barks from the pups.

Jane kicked clumps of hay from her path and sunk down to her knees to watch four pups play fight with each other.

The smallest dog, a runt in comparison was huddled in the corner staying out of it's siblings antics. Their mother was sleeping by their side, a bonny terrier, not a typical ranch dog, but all the same looked capable.

Jane was puzzled why she had never seen them before, but upon hearing Crooks shout an empty curse into the air, she fathomed they had been in his company most of the time.

"Hey" Jane cooed to the pups, two of them took a glance at her, but resumed teasing and nipping each other. The runt sneezed and ruffled it's mousy fur, it stood out from it's siblings. A genetic complication had hindered the dogs ability to look as cute and as well fit as the others.

Jane grinned at it and sat cross legged in front of the basket, her eyes fixed upon the pup.

"I guess you know how I feel" Jane voiced to the runt. It's tiny ears pricked to the sound of her voice, Jane brandished a proud smile that it acknowledged her.

The runt tried to cross the basket, but was battled back by it's larger, rougher siblings.

"Here" Jane took a glance at the mother, she held a bated breath as she checked the dog was still in a content slumber.

Once Jane was convinced the dog wouldn't wake, she plucked the runt from the litter with ease and set it down on her lap. The runt wagged it's tail and pawed her abdomen.

"You like me huh?" Jane grinned and scratched the pup behind the ear. The runt licked at her arm and nipped the skin.

"Ow, hell, no" Jane retreated her wounded limb, a tiny gash supplied a glaze of blood but nothing more.

"Little bugger ain't you?"

The runt barked happily and Jane watched it's large eyes examine her.

It's fur was of a different consistency, it was stringy and coarse.

It was a mutt.

The other pups paid Jane and the runt no attention.

"For darn, blummin' bastard!" Crooks hollered and Jane span around to the proximity of his voice. The buck stumbled through the doorway of his room and paused in his movements when he spotted James.

"Ah, you're back" he slurred and wafted his hand at her. "No person gives me no privacy"

"I was sent here to look after these guys" Jane defended and the runt barked as if to join in.

"Yeah, well, you do that!" Crooks grumbled and held pressed in right hand to his back.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Ah, yeah, it's nothin' jus' ma back playin' up"

"I could get Maura to have a look at it" Jane tried to seem as helpful as she could, but the man's stern expression warded off any aid. Jane's mind soon wondered to the honey blond resided at the farthest part of the ranch. Jane furrowed her brow.

Did she know Curley was dead?

Crooks' voice cut off Jane's pondering.

"Nah, it's all fine, jus' need some time to walk it off"

Crooks hobbled through the barn, curses lay on his lips like prayers.

Jane sat with the runt, the pair watching Crooks as he disappeared through the door. The runt nipped at her fingers, making Jane jump and frown down at the runt.

"You gotta stop doin' that!" Jane scolded and glanced down at her reddened fingers.

The runt wagged it's tail and pawed Jane's abdomen once more.

Jane was to preoccupied with the runt to notice the advance of it's mother. The elder dog stalked up on Jane's right side, it wasn't until Jane felt it's teeth clamp down on her arm that the woman really did notice it. The dog's canines punctured her skin first, then the rest of her teeth followed.

"Fuckin'!" Jane yelled out, the runt began to yap at it's mother, almost in complaint.

The mother let go of her arm instantly as the pup began to yelp, along with the others. Jane guessed it was doggy language for 'get the hell off her Ma'.

The runt skipped out of Jane's lap and it's mother nudged it back into the basket with it's siblings, barking at Jane all the while.

Jane stumbled to her feet and glared at the dog.

"Guard the dog, my fuckin' ass" Jane glanced down at her glistening wound, a nasty bite resided upon her forearm. Crimson and fleshy, Jane winced at the pain it inflicted, the heat prickled at it.

Jane huddled her arm close her her body, the blood began to seep into her shirt she was soon out of the barn and headed to Maura's house.

Flies slammed their tiny bodies against the window pane, the dusty glass offered them no realise but still they tried. The morning sun offered no sign of Curley, as it rose in a blaze, it birthed a sense of freedom.

Buzz, thump.

Buzz, thump.

Maura pushed the window up, the wood scraped loudly and the pane shuddered. The two flies buzzed around her head for a few seconds then returned to the window, they landed next to each other on the pane, then flew under the window, into the open air.

Maura tilted her head and watched the bugs, is that what she should be doing?

Trying to get out, always trying but never getting anywhere until someone opened the window.

Maura held herself upon the counter, her fingers dug into the wood as pain invaded her abdomen, she shuddered, doubled over, the pain shortly subsided. Holding pack tears she returned up right and sucked in a sharp breath.

Maura looked out onto her back garden, her sanctuary had been destroyed. The grass was soiled in broken branches and smashed apples from her tree, the flowers had been kicked up, the white picket fence was torn down. The ugly results of rage.

Maura sneered at it and turned her back, she let the morning breeze wash over her heated skin.

Clapping her reddened, bruised hands in a optimistic gesture, she set out to clean the wreck that had grown around her. The physical destruction was easy to repair, but the mental scars, the pain inflicted upon her tired mind would stay.

Jane wondered wearily up the path to Maura's abode.

Her boots crunched among the crumbs of broken stone and splinters of wood as she pressed her self onward.

With her arm bloody and limp, Jane tried not to concentrate on the pain. She was taken hostage by a bout of nostalgia, the sent of blood and sweat upon her body cast her to a hot summer in Boston.

Jane had been nine, climbing a tree with reckless abandon, not the best judgement of height, Frankie and Tommy were at the bottom holding out a bed sheet. Frankie was only young and Tommy was shouting at the youngest sibling to stretch the sheet tighter. Jane had been transfixed with the thought of flight, she was determined to show the world a person could fly.

Jane had reached the top branch, her hands already grazed with the rough bark. With legs of jelly, Jane had jumped, but her foot snagged on a branch during her decent, making her leap of faith into a plummet.

Wordlessly she fell, unable to scream, it happened to fast for her mind to register. Jane's small body ripped through the bed sheet and she landed upon the park gravel.

Jane had landed on her arm, the sheet had prevented the impact from breaking her arm, but she had sprained the limb and cut her head open from her left brow to her cheek bone. Jane's body was bloody in seconds, Frankie was shouting loudly by this point, convinced he'd killed her. Tommy was oddly amused by his sisters fail, but scared non the less when he witnessed the blood rushing from her head.

Jane blacked out instantly from the pain, but she could always remember her Ma saying to her not to concentrate on the pain, but on her voice.

Then that followed with the woman shouting at her in strings of Italian and English, the two languages wound in and out of each other.

Jane sighed, grinning at the memory, but oddly missed the fact her Ma wasn't shouting at her.

She held her head, she was a adult, she was a woman now, not a goofy nine year old with an obsession with human flight.

The rustle of birds residing in the trees and the distant shouts of the men made Jane feel a wave of grounding.

She was in uncharted territory, but had been blissfully unaware until Curley's death. Jane knew she had to keep low if she was going to stay and prosper. The thought of grounding lasted until she approached Maura's porch.

Tending to the smashed glass that littered the floor, Maura crawled on her hands and knees with a dustpan to collect up the shards.

The clink of the glass hitting pan distracted her from the knock at her door, she heard the slightly harder collection of knocks a few minuets later and got up. Dread filled her veins and pooled down in the pit of her stomach. Curley?

"Hold on" Maura dusted her hands and with stocking clad feet tried to step over the glass.

She walked down the hallway softly, the dim light eased her mind and tricked it into thinking her house was as pristine as it had been before.

Maura opened her door then upon seeing James through the mesh of the bug screen, opened it quickly. His sombre expression hinted to the worst.

"Maura" Jane suddenly had no idea what to do with her hands or rather hand. She shifted from one foot to the other upon seeing Maura's half shaded figure.

"James?" Maura questioned his presence with a timid smile, but then cast her gaze downwards.

"Could you erm... my arm" Jane nodded down at the wound Maura was already fixated on.

Maura glanced over her shoulder,

"Come in"

Maura stepped aside to let Jane into her home.

Jane felt her foot crunch down on something as soon as the door shut behind her.

"Oh shit, I think I..." Jane lifted her right foot and checked the damage, a broken photo frame lay under her boot.

"It's fine"

"I'll pay for a new one..." Jane flustered, but soon took in Maura's deflated tone. "Are you okay?" Jane soon regretted the question, due to it's blatancy.

"I'm fine, really, I am" Maura wafted her hand, glad that James had stepped upon the only remaining photo of her and Curley. It was from their wedding, it seemed a sin to keep such a lie in a frame.

Jane glanced around the hallway, safe in the knowledge that Curley wouldn't pounce at her.

"Sit down" Maura smiled weakly and gestured that James should walk into the kitchen.

Jane grimaced at the sight before her.

"What happened?"

"I would like to ask you the same question" Maura added sharply and busied herself with trying to find something to aid the wound. The slam of cupboard doors filled the space.

Jane pulled up at chair, the wood screeched along the tile and she watched Maura's fussing whilst sat uncomfortably upon the seat.

"Slim's bitch bit me"

Maura span around, slightly aghast with the term. Jane saw the horror upon Maura's face and soon recovered the sentence.

"A female dog, Maura, it's called a ..."

"Yes" Maura held her forehead and laughed to herself at the stupidity of her reaction. "Bitch" she sighed.

A shudder soon ran through Jane, she shifted to disguise it's abrupt presence.

"What's with the booze?" Jane voiced as Maura pulled a brown bottle of what Jane assumed was alcohol.

"It's a medicinal spirit James, commonly used to clean the wound" Maura soon looked put off by the bottle in her hand.

"Drinkin' it'd do me just fine" Jane grinned, trying to lighten the mood that Maura seemed to have hung over on her. The blond grabbed a white kitchen cloth from the counter and screwed open the alcohol to dampen the cloth with it, her face stern all the while. Jane tapped her toes on the floor and sucked at her bottom lip.

"Now, hold still" Maura cast her a quick glance before moving to Jane's side. "Arm" she instructed, Jane hesitantly outstretched her wounded limb into full view. Maura winced, but took Jane's wrist with a silky touch then set her arm onto the table. Blood had already dried around the flesh, but some dribbled down onto the wood. Jane squirmed.

"Now, I don't want you to move"

"Why?"

"Well..." Maura appeared to be all for explaining herself when she set the damp cloth down onto the wound and held it in place sternly.

"Holy mother of..." Jane hissed and lurched from her seat upon feeling the alcohol ooze into the wound. Blood soon soaked the cloth and the burning infested Jane's arm.

"That went better than I anticipated" Maura's words were a delicate and distracted hum.

"What the hell do you think I was gonna do?" Jane's voice had become rougher with the addition of pain that had created a lump in her throat, her vocal chords seemed to be crumbed with gravel.

"Lash your arm away, a perfectly natural reaction" Maura still held the cloth.

"Well, I wouldn't wanna harm you if I did"

"How thoughtful" Maura smiled at James then after another few seconds removed the cloth to peer down at the wound now free of blood, but red and angry. Maura turned away to collect various other items.

"I would consider tending to that wound a few hours after this" Maura spoke over the clatter of moving items. "Dog bites a particularly nasty wounds, bacteria could make the wound fester if not tended to"

"How do I clean it then?" Jane gulped.

"Medicinal spirits"

"Yeah, okay, because _every_ guy around here carries medicinal spirits"

"I would consider them wise"

"I would consider them drunkards"

"James, if you drank this you would pass out" Maura peered down at the bottle, tempted to do just that. Passing out didn't seem like a bad idea, completely irresponsible, but it would prove a good distraction.

"What's so bad about that" Jane winked at the blond as she turned, in her hands, another cloth and bandages.

"I hope you aren't planning to go back near that dog"

"Only to kick it"

"How cruel"

"Maura, if it bit you I guess you wouldn't wanna go back there and give it a big ol hug"

"No, but I certainly wouldn't kick it"

The pair spoke in aimless banter as Maura bound Jane's arm softly.

"Thanks for this" Jane motioned at her arm.

"No problem" Maura smiled and glanced down at her now bloody palms. "If anyone were to come in here they would think I'd killed a person"

The pair went rigid at the mere mention of death. Jane rolled her neck, her wound twinged but nothing more.

"Killed" Maura whispered and occupied herself with washing her hands, her comments masked by the sound of the water hitting the basin.

"Listen, Maura, if you need anyone" Jane started, her voice awkward and disjointed with the shyness that came with the proposition.

"You will be the first to know" Maura assured and nodded.

Jane grinned, but the expression was soon gone and Maura held herself up on the edge of the sink, her shoulders hunched and her eyes closed.

"Maura?" Jane rose to her feet, the chair legs screeched backwards and she stood by the blond.

Maura held her hand over her mouth. Jane listened out for a sob, but a manic blurt of laugher escaped the blond. Oddly, Jane seemed more comforted by Maura's outburst than she would with tears. Jane knew for a fact she could never deal with crying, even when it came to her own emotions she considered it awkward.

"How awful to laugh at such a thing" Maura held her abdomen and let out another blurt of laughter, she held herself as if the act was uncontrollable.

"Maura..." Jane winced and held her bicep, rubbing it as Maura backed away and into the edge of the table with an empty grin plastered on her features. Her back made a soft thud on the wood, Jane looked down at Maura's pale features. Her eyes were framed with dark, moist lashes.

"He's dead" she whispered. "I should be feeling a wave of nausea, intense numbness and grief, but no, nothing"

Jane stood in front of her, watching Maura's rapid mumbling before her. A silence fell between them, Jane bit down on her lip and pressed the conversation on.

"Do you want me to get you anything... I guess" Jane thrust her thumb in the direction of the cupboards.

"No, no, stay here" Maura lay her hand flat on Jane's chest. Her palm was warm and sent Jane's heart plummeting, knocking a breath from her lungs.

Her eyes fixated on Jane's puzzled expression, under the confusion lay an acute realisation where Maura's hand lay.

"You must think of me as such an awful person"

"Not at all" Jane whispered and smiled lightly, her body neared Maura's in the dim light as the sun disappeared behind a cloud. The dust swirled in the air around them, stuffy and heated, it made the two women drowsy in each others company.

"I guess you wouldn't, would you?" Maura ran her hand up to Jane's collar and picked at the fabric. Jane gulped, trying not to touch her in anyway that might offend or make her move away. The thought of rejection from the woman terrified her, Maura was the only friend Jane considered worth having and keeping, she didn't want to loose the blonde.

Jane admitted the fact, she wanted the woman close, to protect her almost in repayment for aiding her.

"James..." Maura whispered, no tears spilled from her eyes, but an expression of deep deliberation was set across her features.

Jane was tempted to answer back, but no words were produced.

Maura craned her head, flushing her body to Jane's and caressed the right side of Jane's face.

Jane moved her hand slowly, to Maura's waist and felt her heart hammer within in the confines of her chest.

Maura yearned into the touch and let her head fall into the crook of Jane's neck. New tears fell from Maura's eyes, but they weren't spilt in mourning as Jane assumed.

The small groan that escaped Maura as she wound her arms around the back of Jane's neck propelled the pair into an intimate posture.

Maura could feel James go ridged.

"Please.. don, don't move" her words melted into Jane's skin.

"I wont" Jane assured and felt Maura play with the stray long hairs at the back of her neck, they had presumably fallen from inside the cap.

Maura twirled them around her fingers and rubbed at the sensitive skin with her nails. Jane bit down on her lip to avoid letting out a grunt.

She felt almost drunk with the proximity of the blonde.

Maura set a kiss onto Jane's skin, the heat radiating from her body was tender.

"Stay" Maura sniffled.

Jane held her tighter and nodded.


	5. Chapter 5

**So yes, any comments, good or bad are welcome. **

**Oh and thank you for everyone who alerted this story, it's wonderful and so are all of you readers. **

**Enjoy. **

The evening drew in faster than expected.

The sun soon set and the workers resided into the bunk house, some sour about Curley's death others got on as normal.

For the wiser few, life continued without the deterrent of death.

Candy was huddled in by the wireless and listened through the crackling reception to one of Roosevelt's Fire Side chats. The old man seemed hooked on the presidents voice. Jane tried to listen along with Candy, but the natter of the other men made the task impossible.

Jane leant in over, craning her neck to improve her perception but such action stole away the pleasure of politics. Jane's bunk creaked and the other men appeared to talk louder over the wireless.

The slap of cards down on the table and Slim's rough laugh, followed by a wheezy cough unsettled Jane.

"I'm gonna go for a walk"

She pulled back, her voice laced with irritation.

"Not listenin' to Roosevelt?" Candy seemed to be the only man listening to her, Jane was surprised the old man had the ability to still hear well.

"Tell me 'bout it when I come back" Jane patted Candy on the shoulder and walked to the door but was stopped by Slim.

"Hey, sorry about the arm kid" Slim shot her an apologetic glance. Jane looked down at her arm and shrugged.

"It's nothin' Maura fixed it up for me"

Upon seeing Slim resume his game, Jane stepped out into the purple sky and stretched. The air pockets in her joints popped and she sighed, the contentment of the action slowly faded.

The chilled air soon applied salt to the wound of a memory.

Jane grimaced and stood, thumbs hooked in her belt loops and eyes fixed on the dim light shinning from the barn.

It flickered, probably from Crooks' gas lantern. The poor man was probably still hobbling about, but the sympathy for the man soon vanished when another thought preoccupied Jane's mind.

Just last night, in the same air, Jane had found Curley's body. Jane twisted away from the thought and pressed on, to walk aimlessly, in circles if she had to, if it would mean her mind would be free of the gruesome image and the back lash of sin.

Jane's attention was soon snatched as from the corner of her eye a light flicked on in the distant left side of the ranch.

Jane peered out, attracted to the sudden change to the sullen landscape.

The light was being produced from the top floor window of Maura's house.

No other light was on.

Jane frowned in thought, her eyes still fixed on the window like a moth to a flame. She didn't know what she was expecting or what she was waiting for, but her legs decided to take her further.

Her footsteps were clumsy and her breath was soon laboured as she manoeuvred herself up the track, listening out. A rabbit hopped around in the nearby undergrowth, it's grey fur flashed past Jane's gaze.

She'd walked this path too many times in the few days she'd spent here, but it already felt like a ritual she would happily continue.

If Jane possessed more caution about the ranch, she would surely condemn the daily visits.

Alas, Jane possessed a nasty habit of throwing caution to the wind at the best of times.

The distant cry of a bird was almost like a warning siren as Jane came to the dirt clearing that exposed Maura's house.

From there Jane tilted her head upwards and came to notice the light was still turned on.

Jane then took a few steps back and frowned at herself.

Why had she walked up here?

What had been her goal?

Surely Maura would be preparing to go to sleep?

Jane was still staring, like a child up at a hard maths sum when the bug screen clicked open and Maura's voice trickled into Jane's senses.

"Are you going to stand there staring like a slack jawed haddock or are you going to come in?" Maura ruffled her hair, her voice was sharp, not with irritation but with testing humour.

Jane was put out by the comment.

"Slack jawed haddock?" she questioned and gingerly made her way to the porch.

"I'm trying to see if I can get hang of the language the men use"

"I really don't think any of the guys use _that_ term"

"I find the slang around here fascinating" Maura noted, pulling her dressing gown tighter and let Jane pass her. She ignored James' comment about her misadventure into local slang.

The door shut and they were stood in the dark.

"Please, join me upstairs"

At first, the comment seemed almost crude. Jane gulped and tried to find Maura in the dark, not physically, but her eyes would give away her true intentions.

Maura stayed silent, unsure of why James was silent. Jane soon realised that Maura would be to naive and was too 'proper' to simply try it on with a man just after her husband had died, no matter how much of a scum bag her husband had been. Saving the fumble of explanation, Jane cut in.

"Nah, I thought I'd just stay down here and shout"

Maura flicked on the side lamp that resided next to the phone, the dull light created spots in Jane's line of sight. Maura stood at the foot of the stairs, staring at Jane, her hazel eyes full of a dangerous intrigue.

"...Who are you, really?"

Jane blinked rapidly, frozen as Maura's hand cupped the side of her neck, her fingers then walked to the rim of her cap. The contact was sudden and hindered Jane wordless.

Jane's skin heated with the threat, the bones in her legs were about as useful as match sticks.

Her brain could have dribbled out of her ear and it would have made more use.

"Maura, I wanna keep it on" Jane's voice came out as a strangled whimper as Maura's second hand unbuttoned Jane's shirt, it wasn't a seductive action, it was an entirely unromantic, almost scientific.

Jane fidgeted with her hands and moved up to ease Maura's hand away from the cap.

Jane's muscles locked, she couldn't move as slickly from the woman's advances, but could try.

Snagging Maura's hands in hers, Jane walked her roughly back to the banister of the stairs and pinned her there. Maura's eyes widened not in shock of the movement, but of Jane's calmness.

"I want you to take it off and show me who you really are" Maura whispered, her breath laboured, her eyes fixed intensely on Jane's.

Maura's mind had been plagued with the underlying truth, the knowledge that James couldn't be a man.

The anatomy was all wrong, James wasn't robust or confident in his body like the other men. Maura licked her bottom lip, the truth seduced her more than the act of attempting to undressing another being.

"I'm just... me" Jane hissed as Maura struggled. Jane felt a tear streak down her cheek, her breath caught in her throat. She felt like she'd been lured into a awful peep show and she was the unpronounced star. Maura yanked her hands free and tugged at Jane's shirt, to let all the buttons strain. A few rained off the shirt, others stayed firm.

Nauseous with the fact she was going to be found out, Jane was at Maura's mercy and the only logical thing her body decided to do was cry.

"Please" Maura pulled Jane's body to hers and pressed her red lips to the shell of her ear, the act was of temptation as well as comfort. "Tell me"

Jane's body jerked in a spasm of attraction and distress. Maura's lips, her whispers taunted her from her shell. Another remaining button, the metal of the buttons made the fabric pop as they came undone.

The rest of Jane's shirt hung open, her chest exposed, her bound breasts free for Maura to gaze upon.

"No" Jane's voice was horse, her throat dry and her tears fell freely. Jane knew all her stamina had vanished.

Maura's hand roamed her well toned abdomen, then as her fingers traced upon the bandages binding her breasts flat, Maura tipped off Jane's cap. The event made Jane recoil as if lightning had struck her spine, she crashed back onto the opposite wall, breathless and woozy. Another photo frame crashed down, it clattered to the floor in a dramatic manner.

Maura's eyes roamed over James or the woman he really was.

"Who are you?" Maura's voice wasn't accusing, but soft, gentle, the new person in her wake, shied away hurt.

"Maura, please, don't tell them" exposed, Jane sank down the wall into a ball, her raven waves framed her face. Maura knelt by her and traced her index finger down Jane's jaw line. Jane flinched.

"I would do no such thing" Maura whispered and pinched Jane's chin, then guided her face, her watery eyes to meet hers.

"I'm a queer, I don't deserve your company, you should be shouting at me"

"But I'm not, am I?" Maura bit down on her lip and looked at Jane with kind eyes.

"No" Jane sniffed.

"Tell me, _James_, I want to know your real name" her words acted as a trigger.

Jane pulled her shirt tightly around her and lunged for the door, her mind was too jumbled to really make sense of how calm Maura was to how panicked the situation seemed. Jane scrambled for the handle, her wounded arm slammed into the wood on her way out.

Maura stood and watched, numb to the fact James or the woman he really was had just wrenched away from her and was out of the house in seconds. The door slammed shut and the bug screen clattered, leaving Maura in a daze, the lamp flickered.

Shouting stress into the sky, Jane ran, oblivious of her intended destination, she just let her emotions carry her.

The heavy crunch of her boots on the track was the only sound Jane really wanted to hear and be sure it belonged to her.

Her legs burnt from the calves to the upper thigh by the time Jane found herself unaware off her surroundings and short of breath.

With a hammering heart, Jane came to rest under a large oak tree south of the ranch, near it's boarders the oak resided. Over the fence rested miles of woodland.

She threw herself down and let her back slam into the rough bark. Her hands grazed against the dirt, the pain offered no distraction.

She tried to battle over her heaving chest and catch her breath, but the war had already been fought, she began to let a sob escape her. The sound was raw from her throat.

Soon, Jane couldn't control the urge, it had to escape or she feared she would pass out.

Tears stained her reddened cheeks and fell freely.

She shuddered, her body locked into a state of shock.

She sat slumped like a rag doll against the tree.

Then a thought possessed her fragile mind, it blazed across her frontal lobe then crashed in waves as if it were a headache around her being.

She had to change, she couldn't let Maura trample over her like that so easily.

Jane had to wake up out of her state of dreaming, nobody but her had said the transition between being a female to a male was easy.

Only she had thought moving on her own from Boston to Solidad would be a natural proses. Just to up and leave, she'd planned it from an early age, all those nights awake with vivid fantasies of escape were useless.

To live she had to be tough, she had to harden like the rest of men, be something of a statue towards other contact.

Jane's sobs quietened but her mind did no such thing.

Jane would remain on the ranch, but wouldn't remain at Maura's acquaintance, she couldn't.

She dried her eyes roughly on the back of her hand and groaned.

Tomorrow would bring another version of the man she set out to be, she would create a new personality.

Jane looked down bitterly at the ground, still shaken.

Jane Rizzoli would fully transform into James Rizzoli and it would be euphoric, Jane promised herself that.

**Too short? **

**Too abrupt? **


	6. Chapter 6

**Good or bad comments welcome. **

**F.Y.I, Harry/ Mr Witham is the Boss, Steinbeck never did mention his name, so I thought I'd make up one.**

**Oh and I find that in this chapter I envisioned Jane to look like Katherine Hepburn when she had short hair. **

The sun rose over the buildings upon the ranch, casting a burning orange glow into the dust. Birds flew over the bunk house, perching on the roof to tweet loudly in their morning song.

Jane had her hands stuffed into the pockets of her jeans, bunched into fists as she walked down the path from the oak back to the bunk house. Her mouth was dry and her eyes stung with sleep.

Jane knew she'd receive hell when she walked back in, taunts and mocks no doubt. Probably all questioning her whereabouts or why she'd just walked in at eight in the morning. They would all be ready for work, then she'd appear looking like hell.

Jane stared down at her feet, her pace slowed as her thoughts progressed upon her situation.

Maura knew. That simple fact spawned millions of threads that tied one and one together to make two.

Jane rolled her neck and sighed.

It was best to keep her head low and mouth shut during the next week and a fair distance from Maura. No matter how much she wanted to waste away the hours at the blonde's side, Jane remembered her life before the ranch, with painful worry. Jane knew side tracking from her job would be a long term fault.

But fact and the fiction of her mind began to blur into a haze.

Jane kicked a stray stone from her way, it spat up the dirt and landed near a collection of grubby weeds.

She had a job.

Not a life.

The sound of voices behind a dividing patch of bushes and small trees distracted Jane from her intention.

Crouching by the bushes, Jane spied through the foliage to get a clearer picture of what was happening. From what she could hear, two people were fighting.

"We can't jus leave him in there" Slim's voice was easily identifiable and calm in contrast to the second speaker.

"We sure as hell can, I'm not havin' any God damn child of mine carted off to a police station"  
"They jus wanna do there job"

"And I wanna keep doin' mine!"

"Harry.." Slim sighed, the sound of shifting feet broke their interaction.

"Slim, Harry" then a third voice sounded, it wasn't that of a locals and judging by the men's silence he wasn't a ranch worker.

Jane soon began to feel her calves burn and her lower back ache with a bolting pain. She tried to shift her weight to make it less stressful, but paused when the new comer spoke up again.

"Based on your expression Mr Witham, you disagree with our decision to look into your sons murder?"

"Murder, who said it was a murder?"

"Sir, judging by the sate of the body..."

"I don't wanna hear it! Curley was well respected 'round here and ain't nobody gonna soil his name jus cos he's gone"

"I'm not trying to" the new speaker coughed. "soil his name Mr Witham, I'm simply trying to find justice for your son"

Silence fell between the trio.

Jane tried to listen, but the feeling that something was crawling down her arm proved a valuable reason to take her attention from them.

"OhmyGod" Jane whimpered, her body soon went ridged as she saw a spider the size of her palm, practicality strolling up her forearm without a care in the world.

Jane stared wide eyed at it, unsure of what to do to get the creature off her.

"Ew, ew, ew, ew" Jane whispered to herself and bit down on her lip when the voices rose again.

"Well his body can stay here while you find justice"

"That, I'm afraid Mr Witham is against the law"

"Agaisnt the law!"

"Unless you have something to hide then I'm sure..."

All the while the men were speaking, Jane made a show of herself. Trying to bat the spider away with a stray leaf proved pathetic, the creature was happily making it's way up to her bicep, probably judging her as the idiot in their situation.

Jane knew it was nearing her shoulder, it's tiny little pincers and long legs proved to be be the worlds biggest threat.

It was a devil spider.

She hopped from one foot to the other in disgust of the creature upon her skin. As soon as she felt it's first leg touch the nape of her neck, Jane's body shook in a spasm, a display of girlish squeals and flung herself through the bushes and crashed out the other side, she landed on her back with a grunt.

Silence set for a few seconds before Slim sniggered under his breath.

"Oh, yeah, Mr McRae, this is James" Slim introduced awkwardly.

Jane opened one eye and peered up at the three faces looking down at her. The Boss looked pissed, his face had already turned a blotchy pink, the kind of colour a person would find a strawberry yoghurt to be.

McRae had a smirk plastered upon his ratty features and Slim was battling the urge to laugh.

"Does he always crash through foliage?" McRae turned to Slim with an amused smile. Jane took in McRae's black suit and brogues, he was a man of high status, the depression didn't linger on him like it did the rest of the country.

"Only on weekdays" Jane replied and sat up dusting herself off, making sure the spider had vacated her arm.

"It's a Saturday James" Slim smirked.

"Well it must be your Birthday" she dead panned and got to her feet. She nodded to the men. "I better go and find a shrub and keep it company, you know how lonely plants can get, all leafy and... green... I'm just gonna..." Jane jerked her thumb in an aimless direction and followed it.  
The men watched her walk off to the bunk house.

The Boss swore and pulled a cigar from his pocket as if to say, resume the conversation.

Jane marched into the bunk house, nobody resided inside.

That was a mistake.

Jane wanted to slap herself, James Rizzoli wasn't a screw up, he didn't make a fool of himself. Bitter, Jane slammed her hands down on the basin in the far corner of the room, resting by a few tooth brushes, lay a razor. She doubled over, in a stance that would make another man assume she was about to vomit.

Jane's chest heaved.

She had to stick to herself, she couldn't let a spider fuck her over or three men make her look stupid any more.

Jane looked at the blade and then lifted off her cap, her hair tumbled down. She glared at herself, her eyes were raw, her lips quivered.

"Just do it" she picked up the razor and glared at it then at her hair. Jane gulped down the lump in her throat, she took the razor to her hair, bottling up all her emotion.

Jane watched her hair fall to the floor as she hacked at it. A sadistic thought radiated through her , she loved the way it could be cut so easily and she would feel no physical pain, only emotions.

Jane considered the act cleansing her of her old life, she had no mother called Angela, no Pop called Frank, no brothers called Tommy and Frankie.

She had herself and proving from the lack of hair she now possessed, she had to keep to herself.

Cut roughly she ran a hand through her hair she'd butchered. It lay with no style, just a mess upon her scalp.

Jane let out a wounded moan and gulped thickly, her body hunched and she rocked on her heels.

"Hey kid" Slim hung in the doorway, his view not yet on the mess of hair on the floor, Jane span around and touched her mess of hair.

"Slim" she coughed and brushed the hair into a corner with her foot.

"That's a nasty hair cut you got goin' on, no offence"

"Non t-taken" Jane pulled at the raggedy mess.

"Take some of that wax kid" Slim pointed to the tin box on the shelf. "Slick it back"

Jane took it timidly and opened it.

She dipped two fingers into the wax and glared at the gluey substance.

"You really have no idea do you?"

"I wasn't raised by my Ma" Jane shrugged, it was the beginning of James.

"Ah, jus your Pop?"

"Nah, my Aunt"

"What happened to your folks?"

"Died" Jane shrugged and Slim set both hands down her her shoulders.

"Sorry 'bout that kid"

"No need, I never really knew em"

Slim guided her to a chair then sat her down.

He picked up the razor and the wax.

"Luckily I had to cut my Pop's hair and he said I was so good, he let me work in his barber shop until I was twenty"

"So I can be safe in the fact you wont cut off my ears?"

"Ha" Slim snorted and took the razor to Jane's butchered hair. "I wouldn't hurt a fly if it gave me no reason to" his voice was soft.

His right had held the razor, his left steadied her head.

After minuets of silence and baited breath, Slim led Jane to the mirror.

"My best so far I think" Slim stated smugly and Jane grinned.

Slim had left a parting to make a fringe, he'd waxed it back to make a loose, floppy side quiff, he prevailed to shave the sides of her head not bald but just enough so she could feel it bristle against her fingers. It looked charming upon her sharp features.

"I look like...I dunno" Jane jutted head back and Slim grinned at his work.

"You'll turn some heads Rizzoli"

"Yeah... I guess I will"

"Come on kid, you and I have work" Slim guided her from the bunk house, his hand on the small of her back.

"If I was a woman" Slim chuckled. "I would sure as hell want you to be tuckin' me in at night"

Jane laughed nervously and moved from his grip.

"If I had a gal I'd probably be one lucky son of a bitch" Jane admitted as the walked.

Maura peered from her window, she watched men walk to their work, somewhere among them would be James.

She rubbed her eyes and moved away from the dusty pane, the action would help her physically forget the woman, man, person who was James.

Maura turned to her Admiral Phonograph, the set the pin down onto the black record and waited until the crackle subsided then Ruth Etting, I'm Nobody's Baby blurred through the speakers.

Maura swung her hips in a lonely dance. Her dress clung to them, sensitive to every sway.

She hummed softly along with Ruth, her voice sweet in contrast to Maura's bluesy tone.

Gently pacing her dance, Maura hugged herself and moved around her sitting room.

Sighing, Maura tilted her head back, her hair spilled back and she led herself around the room.

Her eyes fluttered shut and she was soon lost to herself.

She needed someone's hands on her hips, someone on her lips, their touch to scar her with a heat as they moved with her. Maura let her hand run over where she wanted them.

Maura twirled, then swayed her body where her partners body would be, needing their body close to hers.

Maura soon felt the butterflies in her stomach of a simple thought, then let her mind float and toy with the image of James atop of her in the dance, their hips swaying and bucking.

Maura let out a whimper, her mind ran away with her and so did her hands. Her right slid down her front, scaled the valley between her breasts then settled down on her abdomen. Her left ran up into her hair and she spoke the lyrics through shaking lips. Maura rolled her neck, James would kiss her with burning lips, whisper into her skin what they would do to each other.

Maura groaned and felt a heat grow between her legs. Her legs nearly buckled with the mere thought of James sliding a hand up her skirt, nipping at her neck all the while as two fingers toyed with her.

James was her forbidden fruit.

"Urgh" Maura groaned in frustration and licked her lips. The record grew louder in her ears, the room swelled along with her irritation. Maura's skin began to redden and her breaths shortened.

A knock at the door brought Maura crashing back into reality.

She gasped almost in the fashion of someone battling against a ranging current of water.

"I'll..." Maura's voice was raspy and rough, a blush had infested her skin and to her embarrassment, she knew her panties would never be worn again. "Just one minuet" Maura tried to compose herself, but found the task hard when her legs wouldn't even support her to the door.

Maura sucked in a breath and tried to concentrate on something other than her apparent arousal.

She moved into the hallway and opened the door then the bug screen.

"Miss Isles?"

"Yes?"

A man stood in a black suit and brogues with slicked back hair and a sharp nose smiled at her.

"Please, I'm Detective Hardy McRae"

"Ah, Detective, please..." Maura stood aside and thanked the interruption, she soon came to realise if she'd continued she would have been ashamed with herself minuets later.

"Listening to Ruth Etting? You have a good taste Miss Isles" he wiped his feet upon the mat and proceeded to walk into the sitting room. Maura smelt his cologne, it was tangy, full of sharp fruit.

"Miss Isles?" Hardy McRae dusted his trousers down and peered at her. "You're walkin' like your gams are about to give from under you"

"Oh" Maura lent against the wall and wafted her hand. "I'm just feeling... hot"

"You do look mighty flushed Miss"  
McRae didn't pursue the topic further, Maura was thankful.

"You are here because?" Maura tired to clear her throat of the building moan she'd wanted to let out moments before.

"To ask about your husband, Curley Witham"

Maura's expression hardened.

"Yes"

"I just want to ask you a few questions"

"Please, sit down then, Detective"

"Thank you for the offer Miss Isles, but I'll stand, it's only a passing visit, I have more urgent matters with your father in law"

Maura knew it had something to do with Harry's stubbornness. McRae needed all the time he could get to convince Harry about a law other than his own.

"Then proceed" Maura noticed McRae was too busy eyeing her to really ask her anything ligament. "Detective?"

"Ah yeah" McRae ran a hand over his slick hair and took out a note pad from inside of his blazer.

"When did Curley leave the house the night he died?"

"After we argued" Maura admitted. "Around, mm, ten if I recall"

"Yeah" McRae rolled spit around his mouth. "What was the argument about?"

"He thought he had the right to, _have me_, whenever he pleased"

McRae nodded while she spoke.

"Did any of the men know of this argument by the time he'd left?"

"No"

"Right" he seemed unconvinced, Maura furrowed her brow.

"You think differently, Detective?" she snapped.

McRae was soon flustered, but sucked the shock of her challenge up.

"Miss Isles, you are quite the dish, many of the men here damn sure know that, it looks like you do to"

Maura pushed herself from the wall, flustered and burning with anger.  
"Detective I really do hope that you're not suggesting that I'm having an affair with one of the workers! It's no secrete that Curley and I didn't see eye to eye, please do not go and assume that I am a golddigger, I don't care for your attitude or perspective" Maura snapped and glared at him.

McRae tucked his note pad away.

"Thank you for your time Miss Isles"

"You know where the door is _McRae_" Maura growled and jutted her finger to the hallway. McRae straightened his blazer and slicked back his hair, then made his way out, not speaking until the door was closed. Maura heard him utter a curse but nothing more.

Jane found herself slowly caring for her hair cut.

The days heat had proven ghastly to deal with and left her sweaty, her hair dried quickly and she ran her hand through it, proud.

The loud voices around Jane made her feel part of something, not a home or a task force, but a tiny community.

Jane sat against the wall beside her bunk later that day, her thoughts distant from the text her eyes were fixed upon.

Slim approached Jane, his hand clapped down on her shoulder.

"You heading out tonight?"

"Huh?" Jane peered up from her magazine, the ink had been smudged from the heat and sweat from the fingers of the many men who had read it.

"Coming to Susy's place?"  
"Susy's?"

"The local girl house, if you don't tag you're gonna miss out kid" Slim grinned.

Carlson pipped up from over the room.

"Get all your needs met"

"Needs?" Jane looked back and forth between the pair.

"You are still a kid ain't you?" Carlson walked over and Jane shook her head.

"Hell no!" she challenged and stood up. James had to be courageous and outrageous.

"Then you'll come along?" Slim let out a raspy chuckle, Jane nodded with vigour.

"You bet" she shot a glare at Carlson, it challenged him.

Carlson gave her a toothy grin, his moustache covered his top lip.

"This place'll blow your wig" Carlson scratched at his head and shifted to collect items from his bunk. "You'll be having pretty thoughts when you go to sleep" he laughed and made a jerking action with his hand over his shoulder.

Jane screwed her face up disgusted, she rolled her shoulders, they ached from the work she'd put in earlier.

"You ready?" Slim was already at the door, his straw trilby perched upon his head, the hat made him appear taller.

"Sure" Jane took a glance back at her bunk, but followed Slim with a riot of butterflies in her stomach.

Jane soon found herself submerged in a smog of smoke, with a whisky in hand. Red light cut through the grey film the cigarette smoke caused, Jane's exposed skin looked pink.

Sat at a round wooden table, surrounded by six other rowdy men, Jane admitted to herself she enjoyed it.

The alcohol had dumbed the butterflies, but created an ache between her legs. Passing girls, with their hair ruffled and blouses open for the world to see made Jane's hormones drive her into joining the other men's cat calls.

"The kid looks like he's enjoying himself" Carlson nudged Slim, nearly knocking his drink.

Slim chuckled to himself, James had his eyes fixed upon a particular woman, the singer up on stage, a busty redhead with a litter of freckles.

Jane licked her dry lips and watched the redhead, possessed with her voice.

Singing the blues, the redhead swayed her hips earning a few whistles from surrounding men.

Jane gulped down her whiskey, it burnt her throat, making her voice horse and deep. She hummed drunkenly along with the singer, tapping her feet in time with the drums.

Slim clapped his hands together, snatching Jane's attention, along with the other men.

"You know as I wus talkin' about my summer at the farm?" Slim's voice slurred, the other men nodded, all recalling the story from earlier in the field. Jane knew the other half. Slim had spent this one summer at his Grandma's farm, hunting, fishing, standard pass times. Jane was at loss to think how he could continue the tale.

"I has to admit-" Slim ran his hand up and down his glass. "I went squirrel huntin' with a kid called Ellis Jerry. Lived next farm along. Ellis wus subject to these crazy fits, so I took to carryin' a leather covered stick so stuff in his mouth so he didn't eat his tongue-" the Slim barked a laugh. "I fuckin' enjoyed watchin' the fits, Ellis'd sometimes get a hard on during one and spunk off in his pants!" the men then hollered, Slim rocked back and forth in laughter, Jane grinned stupidly, but didn't laugh.

After the laughter calmed and a few more comments shot out about crude tales of masturbation, Jane rose from her chair.

She wobbled to the bar, Jane had her wits about her even whilst tipsy, she turned the drunken walk into a confident strut.

Leaning on the wood, she knocked twice to gain the tenders attention.

"Hey, can I have another whiskey?"

"Make it two" a smooth voice melted into Jane's ear and a finger ran down her arm. Jane turned slowly and grinned when the red headed singer peered at her. The red dress the woman wore clung in heavenly places.

"You sounded swell" Jane was taller than the woman only by an inch, but found that the height difference helped her confidence.

"Why thanks" she hummed her words and licked her bottom lip. "After these drinks, you fancy a snipe?"

"Sure" Jane heard the two glasses clink on the bar and handed the singer hers.

"Cheers" she purred.

"What are we celebrating?" Jane puzzled, her voice rough. The singer didn't answer but pecked Jane on the cheek. Jane threw back her whiskey, taking the hint.

The singer moved her lips to Jane's ear and nibbled at her ear lobe.

"Call me Lacey"

"Nice to meet you Lacey" Jane husked and Lacey ran her hand through Jane's hair, the action made her shudder.

"Wanna go for that snipe?" Lacey asked but gave no room for Jane to reply, she already felt her body hit a brick wall and the sound of a side door slam.

"I'm sure I've got..." Jane tried to find a lighter in her pocket, but judging by Lacey's lips upon her neck, the singer had other intentions. Jane blinked and groaned at the sensation, then let a husky laugh vibrate from her burning throat.

"You've got me mistaken" Jane placed her hand on Lacey's rear. Lacey stopped kissing her neck to listen. "I like to be in control"

Jane squoze Lacey's rear and slammed her lips upon the redhead's. In a battle of lips and tongue, Jane's mind travelled back to Maura. Touching the blonde, kissing her seemed like a far fetched fantasy, but could be simply lived with Lacey.

She groaned loudly and whimpered as Jane ran her hand past the hem of her dress. Drunk and aroused, Jane was soon carried away. Her nerves were on fire as she cupped Lacey's crotch, upon feeling silky, damp underwear, Jane groaned in unison with the vocalist.

"Do what it takes" she mumbled to herself, Lacey was puzzled but ignored it to succumb to the sensation Jane's hand created as it massaged her through the cloth of her underwear.

"What's your name?" Lacey panted, her voice grounded Jane.

"James" she whispered then felt a daring sentence roll from her lips. "I want you to scream it" Jane shoved her fingers past the material as she spoke, she grinned as she heard Lacey whimper.

Lacey dug her nails into Jane's clothed back, she was sure the marks would burn on her skin for days.

Lacey bucked her hips into Jane's thrusting fingers.

The redhead used the wall as leverage to wrap one leg around Jane's left hip.

Lacey tilted her head back when Jane attacked the woman's breasts with her teeth, nipping and sucking at the skin. The vocalists gasps sounded in the night air, Jane nuzzled the woman's neck, her eyes tightly shut trying to suppress the shame that surfaced.

"Shit" Lacey panted, the curse birthed a string of groans.  
"I hope that voice of yours sings my name like a canary" Jane whispered in the redhead's ear and drove her fingers into the woman harder, venting her anger into the speed she pleasured this woman. Lacey screamed out into the alley, Jane pulled her fingers from the red head and rested back upon the wall, panting.

Lacey kissed her roughly and ran her hand up Jane's thigh.

The action shocked Jane.

Her hand teased the nerves alight under Jane's clothing, rubbing teasing her flesh.

A bolt of pleasure soon turned into a bolt of realisation.

Jane's make shift bulge, an sock with two other rolled socks inside, it was a spare of the moment raid and the only think that could really pose as that part of the male anatomy. It wasn't going to hold up, literally. Something that should be blatant wasn't. Lacey would flip and Jane knew she didn't need the trouble.

"Don't" Jane let out a strangled whimper.

"Why? It's only fair to repay the favour" Lacey purred, her voice still groggy from her orgasm that had coated Jane's fingers.

"It's not fair on you"

"Ha, it's that big?" Lacey growled, but Jane pushed the woman from her lightly.

"I really have to go"

Jane stumbled back into the bar and whistles from other men signalled that they saw her leave with Lacey. The door slammed shut and Jane felt guilt attack her, it stole her breath and composure. Shaky and panicked Jane made her way back to Slim's table. She slammed her hands down on the table, gathering Slim's attention straight away.

"Slim, I'm gonna go"

"Not stayin with your bird?"

"Nah" Jane shook her head and tried to straighten her clothing.

Jane pushed past the mass of men by the door and broke into a sprint back down to the ranch, the night air cooled her feverish skin, but didn't tame the urge to continue what she started.


	7. Chapter 7

**Enjoy. **

Maura was the first and last to step from the afternoon sunshine into the cool gloom of the chapel.

For a moment she could only witness shadows across her vision. Vague outlines of pews and the lonely silhouette of a figure huddled in the far right corner.

Maura bowed her head upon witnessing the dust stained-glass window ahead of her, she moved silently into a pew. The wood creaked out into the room, nobody batted an eyelid.

Maura let the silence envelop her as her eyes adjusted to the dim interior.

Maura peered at the picture in the glass.

Glowing with richly sombre hues, a woman with swirling hair gazed adoringly at a tree from which hung a blood red apple.

Eve in the garden of Eden, a temptress, a seducer, a destroyer.

Maura knew the window as art and nothing more, it was a metaphorical piece.

But wasn't just the Bible?

As she stared at the window she couldn't help but feel a sense of disquiet. The window proved a tool for her thoughts. Looming at the back of her mind, James' face rested. Maura's worry had originally been brought on by the simplicity of a small picture in the news paper. Now in the chapel, she didn't escape it.

Maura knew Eve was meant to be beautiful, she was the opposite sexes weakness, but inside she was probably ugly. In truthfulness, Eve was probably a Neanderthal if she were to go into a realistic time line.

Maura sighed.

"It's a fine piece" a voice spoke by the side of her, Maura was reminded of her Mother's obsession with Art Deco, it sounded like something she'd say.

"I'm in a church, on holy ground, yet I don't feel like giving you an honest answer" Maura heard the stranger laugh and the pew creaked again, signalling they had sat down.

"We all have our opinions"

Only then did Maura turn, she took in the humble appearance of a man.

With grey hair, sharp eyes and thin lips, he looked ahead also.

"I guess that you know that" he spoke and pulled a cigar from his top pocket.

"Are you allowed to smoke in here?" Maura whispered, glancing around. He shrugged and tilted his hat over his eyes.

"I don't care much for religion, I hardly think _God's_ gonna smite me for smoking in a building" he smirked. "I see you share my view, I can see from your expression, you find religion hard to really put faith in"

Maura brushed down her dress and kept her eyes upon Eve.

He straightened his back and took a lit match to the end of his cigar.

"It's just superstition" Maura snapped, her voice hushed due to Father Evans sudden entrance, in his hand he held a mug. His eyes were tired and his feet shuffled.

The man let out a slither of a laugh and puffed out his smoke.

"Amen to that"

Father Evan approached Maura, a sorrowful smile played on his aged lips.

"Miss Isles" he started, the man sat next to Maura adjusted himself so Father Evan could talk to her better. "My condolences, I hope Mr Witham rests in a better place"

Maura pressed her lips into a fine line and nodded once.

Father Evan bowed his head also and walked back down the isle.

"Mr Witham?" the man whispered.

"My late husband"

"I'm sorry to hear 'bout that Ma'am"

"It's not a great loss"  
"Is this you being honest under a church roof?"

"This is me being honest yes, to me he meant nothing"

"Then I hope you find someone better"

Maura outstretched her hand.

"Maura Isles"

"Charles" he took his cigarette from his lips and smiled. "Would you care for a walk?"

"Certainly" Maura returned his smile.

A plume of smoke radiated from the far end of the barley. Slim, Jane and two other workers were preoccupied with the tractor that was producing the plume.

Jane rolled up the sleeves of her grey Henley shirt and dabbed the sweat from her forehead.

"It's bust" she spluttered, the smoke infested her eyes and nostrils.

"How the hell we gonna move it?" the first worker, a bearded man that went by the name of Ollie Oxenbury called and peeled off his shirt and dropped it into the barley.

Jane shrugged and leant back to glare at the engine from a different perspective. Slim was busy tinkering with it.

"Don't look now Rizzoli but here comes your Jo mutt"

"What do you mean Jo mutt?"

"It ain't good at nothin'" Klark pipped up from the other side of the tractor. The pair laughed, but Jane stayed quiet and grinned down at the pup that leapt around her legs.

"You ain't no Jo mutt are you girl?"

"Looks like a Jo to me" Klark laughed, the pup paused and barked at him.

"She's smart" Jane huffed at Klark.

"A right Jo" Ollie mocked the pup.

"If I call her Jo, will you fuckin' shut up?"

"Nah, but call her it" Slim added and slammed his head on the hood of the tractor. "Fuckin'"

Jane reached down to the pup and scratched her behind the ear.

"Okay, Jo, you understand, that's your name, _Jo_"

"James and Jo sounds smart" Ollie brushed his hands on his trousers and nodded to the pup. "So, Rizzoli, I wanna know, why did you bolt the other night?"

"Bolt?" Jane sat down in amongst the barley, the sun beat down in ruthless waves. The newly christened Jo leapt into Jane's lap.

"From the whore house?"

"Oh" Jane petted Jo happily. "I wasn't in the mood to hang around"

"I heard different, Carlson told me you went into the back alley with the canary"

"Erm, yeah" Jane scratched at the back of her neck.

"What she do?"

"Nothing"

"Never did I see such a guilty mug" Slim chuckled, his face grubby with sweat and oil. "This tub ain't gonna budge, but kid, I told ya that hair cut'd work"

Jane shrugged awkwardly.

"It was nothin'"

"Keep tellin' yourself that Rizzoli" Ollie smirked and patted the tractor, Klark hobbled around to lean on Ollie.

"Hey, what's Curley's broad doin'?" Klark squinted and cupped his hands over his eyes to block out the sun.

"She's with a..." Ollie did the same, the pair looked like twins, leering to get a better look across to the hill they were walking down.

"A fella!"

"She's allowed" Jane remained sat down, but her mind raced. Whoever she was with, he was a slime before inspection. Jo barked and trotted around Klark's feet.

"Yeah, but not a fella from 'round here" Ollie gestured for Jane to look along with them. Jane stood abruptly and peered out across the barley.

"Hell, who _is_ that guy?" Jane frowned and Slim dusted his hands off joining them.

"Dunno" Slim slapped Jane on the back. The action was almost a signal for Jane to go running after Maura. Jane rolled her jaw.

"Whoever he is, he looks like a greaseball" Jane crossed her arms tightly and Jo barked to confirm the statement.

"Why don't you go size him up Rizzoli" Klark teased and winked at Ollie.

"Keep walkin' Klark"

Slim jerked his thumb back at the tractor.

"You know if you girls are done, we gotta a tractor to move"

"Christ, here comes McRae" Ollie groaned. "That guys been on my case cos I wouldn't tell him where I wus that night Curley skipped it"

"_Where_ wus you?" Klark smirked, he already knew the answer but knew Ollie was to proud to admit it to an authoritative figure.

"On the damn crapper" Ollie hissed and Jane smirked, chuckling at the man.

"Hold up, he's got a fella with him"

"_Really?_" Jane snapped her head up from trying to map how to move the machine.

"Good Christ! It's a..."

"A Negro!"

"Hush up!" Jane snapped at them and stood still when McRae and his partner turned up.

"Guys" McRae slicked back his hair and his partner stood awkwardly by his side.

"Who's this guy?" Klark snapped and jutted his finger at McRae's partner.

"Detective Barry Frost" his partner announced himself calmly, his eyes stern.

"Detective?!" Klark and Ollie both scoffed at looked Frost up and down. "They make folks like _you_ Detectives?" Klark spat.

"Racisms a poor show" Slim dusted his hands and Jane nodded, she caught Frost's eye.

McRae didn't seem pleased by Slim's statement but nodded to join in the show of a respectable man.

"I'd like to talk to James" McRae took out his pen and note pad.

Jane rolled her neck and clicked her tongue in signal for Jo to follow.

Walking in silence through the barley back to the ranch, Jane's eyes were fixed upon Frost.

The man didn't walk close to McRae, they didn't even talk, they just walked.

A wordless team from two different worlds.

Only when the trio stood by the wash basins far from the barley did McRae start to talk .

"Where were you the night Curley Witham was killed?"

Frost stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed upon Jane, the stare was intense.

"I was out walking"

"What time?"

"I dunno"

"Helpful" McRae didn't suit sarcasm. Jane narrowed her eyes.

"Are you looking to make enemies McRae?"

"I'm looking to find the truth"

"Right call me in fifty years"  
"Why?" McRae looked up from his note pad.

"That's the only time your gonna earn my respect"

Frost smirked, but a sharp look from McRae set his face back into a stern glare.

"If you don't cooperate I'm gonna have to put you on my primary suspect list"

"Listen, I was just out walking, I didn't hear anything when I got back into my bunk" Jane felt the lie burn her tongue but it left no marks. It was fairly easy to lie to McRae, he appeared to be the sort of man who still believed in Santa.

"Did you know Curley?"  
"Yeah, I knew of him, I didn't agree with how he held himself, but I had no motive to kill him"

McRae rolled his tongue around his mouth, his note pad slapped shut and he clicked the lid back on his pen.

"That'll be all Mr Rizzoli"

McRae bowed his head and walked off, Frost lingered for a few moments then decided to follow McRae.

Jo got up from her spot of shade and skipped over to Jane.

"They need someone to frame" Jane whispered to the dog. Jo barked in agreement or complaint, either one would do for Jane. Jo was just a pup.

Jane knelt down to scratch Jo behind her ear when two shadows fell over her for a second but passed, with them nattering voices.

Jane peered up and saw Maura with her arm looped with another man's.

"Ah James" Maura knew James had been staring at her, she'd felt the glare upon her back.

"Maura" Jane rose to her feet slowly and the Maura's acquaintance glanced down at the dog. Jane was soon uneasy about him. Jane narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, her hands bundled into fists.

"This is Charles"

"How do you do?" Charles outstretched his hand but Jane didn't take it. His lips curved into a sneer, then progressed to a mean smile. His eyes were grey and piercing, his cheek bones jutted out from his face.

"I'm showing Charles around"

"Yeah, you do that" Jane felt Jo nudge at her leg almost urging her away from the man. Jane looked Charles up and down then gave a warning look to the blonde. Maura ignored it, but Charles picked up on it. He flexed his hands and offered Jane a crooked smile, a mocking gesture.

"I'll see you" Maura's voice was almost monotone, if it weren't for the anger that welled up substantially inside her veins.

"Yeah" Jane stalked off with her shoulders hunched.

Charles tipped his hat over his eyes.

"James huh?"

"Yes" Maura glanced over her shoulder to watch James walk away. "He's... difficult"

"I can see, he should treat you with more respect" Charles looked ahead.

Maura sighed.

"We had a argument, usually, he's... manageable"

"You make him sound like a child"

"He holds a temper and grudge like one"

Charles hissed a laugh and Maura tried to join, but felt vexed to do so.

Word got out easily.

Jane could only assume it had been Carlson that had started the talk, ever since Ollie had said Carlson told him, what would stop that man from telling others?

The days that followed were rich with hassle.

Whilst in the fields, Jane received pats on the back and coy grins. At first Jane could only assume it was from her work, but when other men made thrusting actions near her and licking gestures, Jane knew the word had gotten out that she'd had the fling with Lacey.

Grey clouds settled ahead, grazing the hills, covering them in a dark shadow.

Jane was thankful of the over cast clouds, it meant her skin was free from heat for a day at least.

Hunched over with a cigarette pinched between her lips, Jane stared out upon the fields. Jo trotted around her legs.

She puffed out a thick smog into the air and glanced at the glowing nub.

Was this the only thing to calm her?

Something so tiny but lethal?

Jo yapped at an approaching figure.

Jane picked up on footsteps behind her, but wasn't truly interested until Maura's voice made her head snap around.

"We need to talk" her features were stern.

Jane looked her up and down.

Maura was pale, her skin washed only with that of the after effect of tears.

She was dressed in an over sized white shirt with a tan belt at the waist to create the illusion it was a dress. The shirt had two large top pockets then two pockets at the thigh. Jane was sure Maura was wearing one of the Bosses shirts. Curley wouldn't have owned anything so large.

Jane couldn't help but let her eyes stray to Maura's chest for a moment, the glance went unnoticed by the blonde.

"We're talking right now" Jane spoke woodenly, Maura pursed her lips and glared at her.

"Don't make this hard" Maura hissed, a passer by chuckled then added.

"Nah, he wants it hard, eh Rizzoli"

Jane scoffed and took another drag, ignoring him at first, but liked the recognition it gave her.

"Get in there Rizzoli!" a voice shouted, another whistle called from the dinning area.

Jane smiled, inclined to them.

Maura rolled her eyes, her face flushed with embarrassment at the attention they were receiving. Tears begged to be shed.

Jane saw this and stubbed out her cigarette, the runt sniffed at it when it hit the ground.

"Come on" Jane whistled for Jo to follow. Maura watched the terrier leap ahead of them and couldn't help but feel something for the first time, she was suddenly cast back to all those 'classic' poster couples with their dog and beaming faces. McRae nodded to Maura as they passed, he was talking to Carlson, his note pad pinched in his hand and disinterest upon his features. Frost was leant against a fence, he too looked bored.

Maura shrugged off the nod and continued. James walked with a gentle, authoritative sway. Maura had never picked up on it before hand.

They stopped at the top of the track leading to Maura's house, far from prying eyes and ears.

"Where's your buddy Charles?" Jane began but Maura stood with her arms folded, her eyes glazed with tears. "Maura?"

"Why did you just run?" she snapped.

"I.. wait, run from what?"

"You think because you have a hair cut, because you had a fling with a woman it makes you a man? It makes me forget about you being who I found you out to be?"  
Jane stayed silent, Jo sat by Jane, licking at her fur.

Maura's chest began to heave, her hands balled into pink fists.

"Your family back in Boston haven't forgotten you" Maura hissed and produced a newspaper clipping. She thrust it into Jane's hands and waited to see her reaction.

Jane's picture sat on the page with a caption.

_**Runaway. **_

_Jane Rizzoli. _

_Age: 22 _

_If found or spotted please call..._

The rest of the paper was torn.

Jane flipped it with shaky hands.

"Where did you get this?"

"It's printed in papers all over the country, I found it a few days ago, it's only small, but enough to send a message"

Jane felt her skin run cold.

"I don't want them to find me"

"I _will_ call the number if you dare to do that to a girl again" Maura had the rest of the paper in her hand. Jane narrowed her eyes and squared up to the blonde, Maura stumbled back but regained her posture. Jane grabbed her wrist firmly, not intending to harm her but warn her.

"If this is about Lacey, the guys have blown it outta proportion"

"I hardly think so, _Jane_"

"What?" Jane scoffed. "I'm not going to let you get one over on me again, I'm not. So I think you have to consider that you're going to..." Jane was cut off when McRae trod up the hill, he hadn't eyed them yet. Frost trudged up behind him, eyes on the ground and hands stuffed in his pockets.

"I was drunk so don't go assumin'" Jane hissed and Maura sneered.

"And that makes it better?" Maura glanced around then wrapped her hand around Jane's wrist and tugged Jane towards her house.

The pair hurriedly scurried into the darkness of Maura's hallway.

Hearts beating with childish excitement and fear of being spotted, Maura forgot to close the front door in the rush of brushing bodies and scuffling feet.

Maura shoved Jane into the pantry, she followed her and closed the door firmly.

"Are we having a talk or is this your way of telling me you're attracted to me?" Jane gave a low, raspy chuckle, it was cut short by the clod of footsteps on the porch.

McRae sounded pissed in his ramblings and knocked on the bug screen.

Maura gulped and pressed her back against the shelves, she was painfully aware of Jane's body crushed against hers. Jane's hands were on her waist, pressing their hips close.

"Shhh" Maura breathed. The blond caught the scent of soil and smoke upon Jane's clothes and tightened her hold on the shelves behind her. She felt her fingers soon tingle due to the tightness of her hold.

"..._You_ did _not_ just..."

"Shhh"

Beneath Jane's irritation lay attraction to Maura's sternness.

Jane yearned as Maura's chest heaved against hers, her breath tickled on the skin of Jane's neck. Prickling the skin with oxygen that would happily be given to keep them silent and close.

The creak of a floorboard indicated McRae had let himself in.

"Maura?" he called out.

Maura sucked in a breath in reaction to his invasion.

Jane rubbed her thumbs in circles on Maura's hips, thought the cotton of the shirt. The blond's breath faltered. Maura knew the circles would be there for weeks whilst asleep and alone. The blond hated Jane for that.

"You're being naïve Maura" Jane husked in her ear. Maura tried to listen out for McRae but could only return to listen to her own racing pulse, mixed with Jane's deep breaths.

"I didn't realise that walking around with a man was crime" Maura hissed, she pressed her mouth straight to Jane's ear so her words made the soft hairs inside Jane's ear tickle and vibrate. Jane rolled her neck to get Maura's lips away, they were lethal in their own right.

McRae knocked on the banister.

"Miss Isles, you in?"

A second set of footsteps indicated Frost had joined him.

"Miss Isles? It's Hardy McRae"

Jane held her breath as the handle of the pantry jiggled. Maura bit down on her lip and both women stared at it, willing it to stop.

Maura fell into Jane with relief as it stopped with a sharp scold from McRae sounded.

Jane smiled out into the dark, Maura's head rested on her shoulder, her breath rough and warm as it blew through Jane's clothes onto her shoulder.

Jo's bark from outside brought the two men out of their search.

"That dog goes where ever Rizzoli goes, he must be outside"  
"I thought you were looking for Maura?" Frost sounded angry with McRae.

"He's become a suspect, I want him"

They vacated the house shortly after. The door and bug screen clattered shut, the house fell in to silence.

"Hell" Jane gasped and fell back onto the opposite set of shelves. Maura stumbled after her, her arms instinctively wrapped around Jane's back to prevent her from falling. Jane's hands were still tight upon Maura's hips.

"I'm just saying I don't like the look of that Charles guy" Jane's words were strangled. Maura lifted her head and glared at her, but didn't pull her arms away.

"He understands me"

"Understands, what? Maura, I _understand _you, he doesn't "

"You understand me? Since when have _you_ ever understood _me_?"

Jane closed her eyes and shook her head.

"When you were with Curley, it was just..."

Maura found herself wrapped up in Jane's words begging them to push the envelope of their situation.

What for?

To slap her? A physical deterrent wouldn't solve it, Maura knew her mind would still enjoy to have Jane's face housed.

"Just what? I thought you were my friend" Maura started, her voice hardly audible.

"I am! It's you who's pushed me away!" Jane admitted as much as it left a sour bitterness in her mouth.

"No, you pushed me away! You made it very clear you never wanted to see me again because you _ran_"

Maura licked her lips and tilted her head to stare at Jane, her hazel eyes once again moist with tears and anger.

"You irritate me _so_ much" she stated shakily, the sound was laced with pent up aggravation.

Jane met her gaze.

"It's your lucky day, you annoy me too" Jane waved her hands as if she were displaying a pathetic wave of excitement.

"Just shut up" Maura pushed away from Jane and let her back hit the shelves. Their bodies rested two inches apart. Jars rattles above her but stilled soon enough.

"Get out" Maura snapped and pointed to the door, she was thankful they were shrouded in the dark or Jane would have to witness her tears. Jane didn't object and twisted the handle, she lingered in the doorway in mid duck. For a moment the pair of them both thought Jane was going to say something, but nothing was produced. Jane sighed and walked from Maura's abode, her footsteps faded and so did Maura's resolve, the blonde sunk down to her knees and let the tears free her of frustration.

The morning soon faded to noon and just over the valley, bleeding upwards the sky turned pink in the evening, still harbouring grey clouds in the distance.

White scars lay across the sky, like marks of finger nails once they have grazed skin.

The setting sun cast shadows, dusty imitations of the ranch.

A shadow hit the bunk house door, the outline of a built man.

His gloved hand pushed the door open and the hinges creaked, a smile played upon his thin lips when the workers residing in the bunk house hushed.

The silhouette of the man caught Jane's eye first, then Slim's, soon the rest of the bunk house sat in a tentative silence.

Wearing a tan riding hat, a prim collard shirt and black trouser suspenders holding up his black jeans, he flexed his hands. Jane sat bolt up and discarded her magazine to glare at the man in the doorway.

Charles.

The Boss, Harry Witham stood behind him, puffy eyed and stern faced.

"Men" the Boss announced, patting Charles on the shoulder, having to strain to do so due the man's height.

"This is Charles Hoyt" the Boss appeared proud to stand by such a man. Perched between his thin lips resided a cigar. Jane felt a shiver crawl up her spine.

She didn't need to take time trying to figure out who he was and why his image had been in her mind for days. A jolt of panic and a cold shiver invaded her skin like a fever.

Snake skin boots.

"He's the new second in command" Harry seemed too cheery to announce such a subject.

Jane twisted with discomfort, Hoyt must have picked up on it because his gaze was fixed upon Jane.

"Hey there _James_"


	8. Chapter 8

Above the ranch, grey murky clouds were settled.

Pregnant and threatening with rain, they loomed.

The sun offered a tropical heat, sticky and humid the air hung with the scent disturbed earth, hot in the nostrils of the many workers who lazed out upon the grounds.

With blurry eyes, the men peered up to the sky, their eyes searched the clouds for any sign of retreat, but with the first premature droplets of rain came a sign the rains were there to stay.

With wet fingers the men jutted them up out of the barley, the golden tips swayed with the winds the rain brought with it. The men tried to catch the direction of the wind, with a bazaar interest that amounted to nothing.

The thud of footsteps upon the dampening earth rose into the air, the effort to talk was scarce throughout the workers.

Tired eyes roamed along the sky line from the dusty window in the bunk house, the earth was readying for weeks, possibly a month of unstable and turbulent weather.

Candy withdrew his gaze from out the window and with the internal creak of his bones, he leant over to the wireless and through white-noise he tuned into the local radio station.

Candy knew the weather, he'd spent enough of his life in the natural world to know the patterns of season.

This year, it came early. The old swamper took the rain seriously, but like any other man, turned to the radio and submerged himself in the broadcasts.

Candy knew to let it be.

A day went, the winds picked up and stayed steady. They picked up the dirt from the dried ground and dusted the barley, dusted work boots and clogged up machines. The rain turned the dirt to mud soon enough.

The workers knew how to cope with such natural a occurrence, but Hoyt was far from mud, he was quicksand.

The rainheads dropped to the earth, splattering against the sandy sluch.

Jane's boot landed heavily into a kidney shaped puddle. The water spat up and drenched the tip of her boot.

"Damn Jo, stop" Jane hissed at the terrier who lapped up the water, upon receiving the scolding, leapt into the puddle instead.

The loud shouts from around the ranch offered Jane with the comfort she wasn't alone in feeling the change that had been thrust upon them.

"Rizzoli" Slim's Hamana waterproof was glazed in droplets and dirt. Buttoned up to the top, the coat made Slim appear business like in his demeanour. "Enjoying the weather?"

"For sure" Jane's voice was thick with exhaustion. She ran a hand through her soaked hair and let it fall back over her face.

"Hoyt's got you working double ain't he?" Slim coughed after his words and spat out the product of it.

Jane watched the wad of spit land on the mud but was soon consumed by it.

"Yeah" she sighed. "If it keeps him off my back though I'll do it"  
"McRae's bein' a bastard 'bout you as well?"

"Is it that obvious?"

Slim let out a snort of a laugh.

"He follows you 'round like your own God damn pup"

"Could you distract them for me while I try and get some shut eye?"

"Yeah kid" Slim adjusted his hat and smiled lightly, but something behind the smile hinted to a bigger dilemma inside the man.

Jane smiled at him briefly and retreated back to the bunk house, Jo followed in happy bounds.

Jane's clothes were soaked, the water that infested them dripped onto the floor when she arrived.

Hanging in the doorway, she peered in for a second, her eyes fixed upon Candy's hunched form. Jane took a few steps in, the footsteps tore through the white noise the wireless produced.

Candy stood from his stool and bowed his head slowly to her.

"Candy?"

"It's changing around here" his voice was shaky, his eyes moist.

"What's going on?" Jane's heart beat increased, her mind leapt from the confines of her skull to fabricate far fetched reasons to why the old man was acting queer.

The swamper pointed to the roof then to the ground in silence then hobbled over to Jane, his walk unsteady and drunk.

"Nothin' good is gonna come of this" he wheezed.

"Candy, speak straight!"

"The rain has come, it'll wash away everything, it'll break roots and kill plants"

Jane leapt back as the old man grabbed her shoulder steadily, the clinging odour of smoke clung to his clothes.

"Nothin' goods gonna come of this" Candy gulped thickly and a small smile erupted on his thin lips.

"Nothin' good" he muttered and his body fell to the floor, he landed with a sickening thud. His broom clattered to the floor sharply.

Jane stood, motionless.

Her chest heaved and her hands hung at her side.

Candy lay still upon the dusty floor, no breath came from him.

Maura stood in Harry Witham's study, no sun came into the room only a dull side lamp lit his and her features. The patter of rain on the shutters and the onslaught of wind raged outside.

They'd been indulged in idle banter until the conversation took a bitter dip when the natural silence between the pair arrived.

"What do you have to stay for?" Harry looked over her with stern eyes, puffing on his cigar, Maura tried to refrain from telling him to stub it out.

"Sir, this is the only home I have"

"You're a wise woman Maura, you can find a new home"

"I don't want to find a new home, Sir"

"You like it here?"

"I have grown to"

"Grown" he scoffed and puffed rings out into the smoggy air. "Miss Isles, you can grow to like somewhere else"

Maura coughed lightly, her vocals shaky from the smoke.

The Boss pursed his lips and patted the end of his cigar into the tin ash tray.

"Sir?" Maura held her hands behind her back.

Harry was silent, his eyes plagued with an idea.

"Hoyt" he stated simply.

"Hoyt?"

"Yeah, Hoyt! He's my next in line to run this place if I go... you sure as hell could marry him!"  
"No, disrespect Sir, but I have no romantic interest in him"

"And you're tryna say you had feelings for my boy when you married him? Maura, I know you jus married him to have somewhere to go, I woulda to if I was you back then, but Hoyt, he's a good guy, you can marry him, it'll keep you outta trouble"

"Sir" Maura pleaded.

"Jus spend time with him, get to know him... unless you wanna be homeless?" the Boss leant over his desk, the wood creaked with his weight.

Maura lowered her head.

"No Sir"

"Well then" he let out a gruff laugh, a loud 'heh, heh, heh'. "Miss Isles, you're gonna be a Mrs Hoyt in no time"

Maura didn't answer him.

"Oh and Maura" he licked his lips. "You and that James boy, you better say away from him"

Maura felt her heart beat skip and she spluttered from the urge to cough.

"May I ask why Sir?"

"You talk so pretty" he added to himself before fully responding. "He's got to many ideas, shifty I'd say, you best stop talkin' with him"

"...Sir, he's become..." Maura whispered, her voice backed with a harsh resistance.

"He's become someone I suspect"

"Of what?" Maura huffed.

"My boy's death"

"James would never..."  
"Him and my boy had a fight over you, James is getting all involved with you, he coulda killed Curley to get you"

"I don't think that assumption is accurate S_ir_"

"Oh so you know other wise?"

"I know that James only had that … argument due to the fact he knew I was in trouble"

"My boy'd never give you hassle!"

"Sir, we had an argument prior, Curley was..."  
"I don't wanna here it Maura, let's jus' look forward, huh, yeah, look forward"

"Yes, Sir"

"Now, don't wanna keep Hoyt waiting, you go and see him, tell that man I said hi"

"I will do" Maura sighed heavily, deflated and anxious.

"Bye Maura"

"Bye, Sir" Maura exited the man's study, once outside, she pressed her hand to her abdomen and the other to her mouth.

A numbness invaded her muscles and made her limbs shake with nerves.

Maura leant back onto the wall and tried to steady her breathing to control the building anger radiating from her veins.

The heavy thunder of laboured steps neared.

Slim stood, soaked and panting at the top of the stairs. Maura peered at him, through her lashes but made the effort to look at him fully after a few prolonged seconds of his panting.

"Slim?"

He held up his hand to silence her then coughed again.

"Sorry 'bout that Maura" Slim patted his chest and flexed his hands as he neared to knock on Harry Witham's door. "You'll want to know too" he noted and with three heavy knocks and a grunt of recognition he was allowed in.

Maura looked around the hallway, nobody else seemed to be around.

The blonde indulged in a old habit.

She pressed her ear to the crack in the door and listened. Past the thud of her own heart, she listened in silence, with baited breath.

From the mumblings she caught a few words.

"McRae... Candy's on the floor, James is getting'..."

A chair screeched along the floor, Maura backed away in panic and took a glance at the stairs.

Maura was soon out of Harry's abode, her legs carried her her mind merely followed.

The shouts of a distant commotion was dumbed down by the rain.

A horse shoe shaped gathering stood outside the bunkhouse, from their came the ruckus.

Maura ran out, her prairie dress was soon waterlogged around the sleeves. Her tan boots hammered down into the mud, it spat up around her and soiled the rim of her dress.

"James" Maura stopped at the edge of a gathering of men, her voice was just a whisper in comparison to the chaos.

"He didn't do nothing!" one voice croaked out of the mutterings.

Maura pushed past the men and peered out, with a front row view of the scene.

Frost had Jane with her left arm twisted behind her back. Jane's nose was bloody, the rain smeered it down her face and it dripped from her chin and jaw to drip into the ground.

Her clothes hung from her skinny frame, heavy with water.

McRae paced in front of her, his brogues grazed with mud.

Maura's eyes met with hers, Jane dropped her gaze and fixed it upon McRae. Maura scowled at McRae but looked over Jane in horror. Maura had thought of herself as a woman never to hesitate if another was in need, but the fear of a consequence held her back. She could loose her home or get arrested with the assault of an officer if she carried out the act she was mapping.

"So you murdered an innocent man?"

"No I didn't" Jane spat. Frost looked pained as he twisted Jane's arm further. She grunted but stayed firm in the eyes of McRae.

"Candy was at your feet"

"Because he fell there"

"You are sour about the new second in management, so you took it out on an old man" McRae shouted, his hand pointed to her with the conviction of a preacher.

Maura was ridged.

The men behind her heckled with him.

For a brief second she felt as if she were backed by an army. Her chest welled with the fact with a word, she could send them into battle. Alas these men were no fighters, they were far from knights, they were pawns, the first to be slain.

Maura was simply one of them.

"No! Where is this new second in management, huh? He coulda done it"

Jane spat out and tried to squirm free from Frost's hold. Despite her physical state, she felt almost free as her assumption rolled off her tongue.

Hoyt could have killed him.

The accusation was seductive to Jane, but it was far fetched. In hind sight, it was simply a natural death, Candy had died of old age.

"Sir" Frost spoke up and softened his hold upon Jane's arm, Jane sighed in the relief of the tension and strain her limb had been under. "I hardly think you can say Rizzoli did this off the fact he was stood in the bunk house"

"He's a suspect"

"No, he's not!" Maura shouted, her voice shrill, the men around her shouted at McRae with the same opposition.

Maura felt as if that was it, her simple in put was enough to send them rouge.

A few men stepped out of line, Ollie and Klark.

They loomed over McRae, their eyes twined with a meanness, with a brotherly protection over Jane.

"Rizzoli ain't someone you can pick on, buddy" Ollie was the first to talk, his shoulders squared and firm. Klark rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles.

Jane grinned at them and Frost tensed. McRae glared at them, his eyes squinted to they could not witness his fear.

Ollie spat at McRae's feet and rose his eyebrows.

"It coulda been me, couldn't it? It coulda been Klark, damn it coulda been Rizzoli's pup if we were gonna get serious on this" Ollie let out a rough chuckle and looked down upon McRae.

"You gonna blame it on the rain, arrest the rain?" Klark sneered and the other men laughed, a chorus of snide laughter. McRae reached into his pocket, his fingers curled around a pistol.

"Rizzoli is guilty" he whispered, and felt the cold metal against his palm.

Another move and he just might.

"Not guilty as of yet" Harry Witham boomed, the men parted, their laughter cut off. The beefy man stepped into the semi-circle and Frost let go of Jane, her body lurched forward. Jane regained her balance shortly, her limbs ached from the former assault she'd been burdened with. McRae let retracted his hand from his pocket, empty of the weapon.

Maura lifted a hand to her chest and sighed out, her eyes soon met Harry's.

"Maura" Harry turned to her."Take James to the barn, get Crooks to tend to him"

Maura didn't object and strode forward and snagged Jane's wrist in her right hand.

"Maura" Jane hissed, she tried to wrench away to see about her fate, be part of it, challenge McRae alongside Ollie and Klark, almost as a brother.

Maura rolled her eyes and soon tugged Jane from the commotion, out of the way.

Jane looked over Maura with sore eyes.

Her once blonde hair was almost brown with the water and matted to her face with the rain, her eyes were stern, her dress was soaked through.

"I thought you found me irritating?" Jane spoke lowly.

"I do" Maura wrenched open the barn door and urged Jane inside first, she then followed.

A few droplets of rain fell through the roof and down into the hay. The rafters creaked and the sound of the rain upon the roof was dim.

The curtain the separated the barn from his room was tugged in the breeze that crept in through his broken window.

Crooks sat in his room, the pups at his feet and in his hands, a book. The gaslight on a high shelf flickered.

Maura motioned for Jane to stay where she stood whilst the blond went to collect Crooks.

Maura knocked on the beam, Crooks peered up from the yellow pages and smiled at her, his teeth an off white.

"Miss Isles" his voice was sleepy.

"Crooks, I'm sorry to disturb you, but I would like your assistance"

"With what?" his eyes were soon sceptical. Crooks looked over at her, slitting his eyes, and he chewed as though thoughts were being sorted and arranged by his jaws before they were finally filed away in his brain. The examination was simply a habit of his, any white person to walk into his room was assessed as a goodn' or a badn'.

"Aiding James" Maura spoke, a slight pout formed on her lips. Crooks mumbled, but rose to his feet, he wafted his hand much like a gospel singer as he stood. The bunk creaked and he kicked the pups away as he hobbled to the door.

"What's up?"

"A broken nose I suspect"

"I got some ointment for it, I got a bandage as well, but you'll have to put it back in place"

"Thank you Crooks"

"It's nothin'"

Maura smiled at the man, she held a high respect for him. A fallen solder from the First World War and a intelligent medic, Maura knew this from all the conversations they had shared when she had first arrived.

Crooks was a worthy friend.

"Your boy aint so careful is he?"

"My boy?" Maura defended, she knew perfectly what the man meant, but still felt the need to question him.

"Maura" he hummed her name. "I sees the way you look at him, my sister gave a post boy the same look back in New Orleans, she married him months later, damn guy probably still has that job, lucky bastard"

"Crooks" Maura sighed, smiling at his rambling.

The pair walked from his room, Jane was slumped back in a pile of hay. Her hair already dried at the ends and curling with the natural wave it possessed.

"Later that same day" Jane snapped and heaved her body up.

"Rude ain't he?" Crooks jabbed a finger at her, Maura laughed, they both did. Jane soon felt the sour tang of exclusion hit her.

"What?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing" Maura smirked and upon seeing Jane's hurt expression, behind the blood, Maura walked over and with a handkerchief from her pocket she gently dabbed away the blood.

"I can do it myself" Jane mumbled. Maura's hand clasped the right side of Jane's neck to steady her.

"Yes, but you would smear the blood" she added and Jane rolled her eyes.

Crooks popped the cork from the bottle of ointment, the smell radiated out, a sharp sting of herbs hit Jane.

"Dab it onto the wound" Crooks instructed and Maura took it from him and dampened the cloth with the liquid.

"It stinks" Jane complained and Maura rolled her eyes.

"Are you just going to complain?"

"Yeah, pretty much" Jane huffed and upon the first dab on the bridge of her nose, she yelped and recoiled. "Ow"

"I didn't say it would be painless"

Crooks chuckled to himself and watched, his arms hung at his side.

Jane gritted her teeth and bared the short bursts of pain that invaded her nose, an ache was left behind after every dab.

"Now" Maura stood back and tilted her head, like Jane was simply a specimen. "It's just split skin, not broken, probably bruised, Crooks can you get me some water and a clean rag?"

"Sure" Crooks hobbled off to do so.

The yelps from the pups in Crooks' room filled the air.

"Jane"  
Jane flinched at the use of her former name. Her heart skipped in an electric beat.

"Don't go using that around here" she hissed, but the blond took no notice.

"What happened in the bunk house?"

"Candy died, I couldn't have stopped it" Jane's voice filled with hurt, regret to a certain level.

"No, you couldn't have"

"But he kept saying, before he died, nothing good will come of this" Jane shrugged. "Something about the rain"

Maura's eyes flashed with intrigue, a small curse from Crooks room broke her pondering.

"He knew something" Maura summarised quickly before Crooks reappeared with a tin bowl of water and a cloth slung over his arm.

"Thank you"

"Naw, it was nothin', I'm jus gonna go back and read my book, I'm in no mood to stick around no more, I got no sleep, damn rain" Crooks muttered and handed Maura the bowl, then tossed the towel at Jane.

"I'll be seeing you Miss Isles"

Crooks tugged the curtain over the door frame and the creak of the bunk assured the pair he was indeed doing what he said.

Jane flexed her jaw and still smelt the herbs upon her skin. Maura set the bowl down on the floor and submerged the rag in the water. Jane watched, Maura was knelt, swirling the rag like it was smoke through the water until she wrung it so it was damp.

"What's this for?" Jane sighed, her clothes clung to her skin and magnified every muscle and shape in the woman's body. Only then did Maura spot the ridges the bandages across her chest, the give away of Jane's bound breast.

"To clean you" Maura hummed her words.

"Not in a religious way right?"

"No" Maura chuckled, her eyes half closed as she felt the rag tangle in between her fingers. "No"

Maura rose to her feet and with the rag in her hand, advanced towards Jane. Jane didn't move back, she remained still.

The cold rag was applied to the side of her neck, she soon cursed the rag would dumb out the beat of her pulse. It raged inside her, it plagued her with a sensitive give away of her feelings.

"Hold still"

"I am" Jane croaked and Maura rubbed the rag gently up and down Jane's neck, the blood was pink against the rag. Maura concentrated on the rag more than Jane, it seemed a much calmer subject to focus on. Maura's free hand rested on Jane's shoulder, her fingers rubbed though Jane's shirt to kneed the tense skin.

"You're tense"

Jane didn't respond, she just watched Maura's expressions as her hand travelled to clean more of her olive skin.

Maura felt Jane's dark eyes upon her, they made her skin tingle with anticipation.

Her heart beat told her something was going to happen, the increased pulse, the heat that now invaded her skin, it led her to ache and to yearn.

Jane licked her bottom lip, her hands ran from the sides of Maura's thighs to land upon her hips. Maura's breath hitched in her throat. She dropped the rag to the floor to let her soaked hand meet with the burning flesh of Jane's collar bone.

Jane's breath was heavy, as if she'd just finished running.

Maura winced as her hand moved slowly from Jane's collar bone to run into Jane's hair.

Jane pulled Maura's hips closer so they rubbed against her own.

The blonde whimpered.

Jane shuddered when Maura's nails rubbed into her scalp.

Weapons of destruction, Jane knew them as that.

They simply killed her resolve, her resistance to temptation was non existent.

A fever raged upon her skin, it infested her forehead, she was clammy with nerves.

Jane gulped, her throat dry and sticky.

Maura rubbed her nails into Jane's scalp, circles, lines, swirls anything to coo the woman out of her cave.

Jane held her tighter, then without her brains aid, she pressed her lips to the blonde's.

Jane ignored the pain as the tip of her nose pressed into Maura's cheek, she captured her plump bottom lip in between hers and felt a euphoria erupt from their connection.

A need, the simple electricity was passed between the pair was enough to urge them on.

Maura stood upon her tip toes. Her hands tugged in Jane's hair, but the effect was short lived. Jane withdrew, the pain in her nose made her eyes water and her frontal lobe fuzz with shock.

"Ow, ow, ow" Jane broke away, she stumbled back. The imperfection of the moment made Maura's shaking lips curve into an amused smile.

Jane cupped her left hand over her nose and shyly spied Maura's expression.

"What?"  
"You" Maura giggled, but Jane stood ridged. Maura then straightened her expression to correct her statement. "I didn't mean, you as in... oh Jane, I didn't mean it as I thought it was humours you kissing me! In fact I found it pleasant"

"Pleasent? That's something a person says after a kinda nice meal" Jane jutted out her right hand in a motion, as if the barn was watching, a notable witness to the statement.

Maura's brow furrowed as she thought for the right word.

"Satisfactory?"

"No, that's not... oh" Maura jack rabbited when she realised the word hadn't passed Jane's lips.

Jane dropped her hand from her face and the pair stared at Crooks' doorway.

"I told you, he was your boy" Crooks stood with a coy grin, his book in his hand and his eyes playful.

Maura was about to challenge him when he drew the curtain. Maura heard the rustle of footsteps and turned, her heart beat pulsed in her skull.

Maura stood still as she watched Jane walk with her back hunched and she slipped back out into the day light. The patter of rain broke the air, sharp against the air in the barn, the the door swung back and closed, the rain was soon just dumbed out.


	9. Chapter 9

The wind grew stronger, whisked under stones, carried up straws and old leaves, only to drag them through the mud. Marking its course as it sailed across the fields, the land was soon claimed by the weather.

The air and the sky darkened and through them the sun shone redly,waiting for it's queue to appear, but no such chance arose. There was a raw sting in the air. During a night the wind raced faster over the land, rafters creaked and a few slates from the roof of the bunk house collided into the mud.

As morning came again, the wind was tame and no rain fell, but the clouds remained strong and looming.

Maura Isles took the chance and began to tend to her garden that had been destroyed with her own temper and the weathers justice.

Her hands fumbled the the muddy soil, her skin was soon dirty with the disturbance she's inflicted, to no avail she tried to rearrange the flowerbed.

Maura pulled her hands away and grimaced at her doing.

The clatter of the bug screen alerted her.

"I'm just in the garden" Maura shouted, her hands now scrunched into palms.

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the house, then Jane stood, panting at the foot of the back door.

"Yeah, just hide behind your cosy little home. Why didn't you tell me you were with Hoyt?" Jane burst out into the garden, her stride broken when Maura stood bolt up.

Jane's clothes were muddy and her hands were flexing, no doubt she didn't know what to do with them.

The blond frowned at her, when neither of them spoke for a few seconds, Maura decided it best to continue.

"I had no choice" Maura's voice was quiet.

Harry had something to do with it, she was sure.

"You don't think you had a choice? Bull shit" Jane jabbed her finger down at the ground and Maura shifted uncomfortably at her upset.

"I don't want to leave here, if I didn't accept Hoyt's offer I would be homeless"

"And you didn't care to tell me before?"

"I couldn't"

"You could have, Maura, hell, I wouldn't be fuckin' standing here like a damn ass crying to you, if you'd just told me"

"Why do you care?" Maura spat back, riled by Jane's outburst.

Jane was put out by the sudden shout, she didn't answer. All the right words pricked at her mind.

"You're not even... Jane, I couldn't make a life with you even if I tried"

Jane pursed her lips and glared at the blond. With a sharp turn of her heel, Jane stalked back to the gate.

"Then what the hell where you doing kissing me yesterday?" Jane's voice cracked under the confrontation.

Maura bit down on her lip and searched for the right words, anything that would explain how she was truly feeling.

"You kissed me first" Maura's stare were sharp.

"You're just taking time with me" Jane peered down at her boots.

"What?" Maura struggled to comprehend Jane's thinking.

Jane stood, chest heaving and her head span with accusations. Everything the men had said, everything Crooks had pointed out.

"I'm just something that can take up time!You just want to...to... mess me around so you have something to do"

Maura was silenced in a tearful stare.

"Jane, it's not at all like that!" Maura shook her head, light droplets of rain began to fall, thunder stirred ahead.

"Then please! Explain, I'm all ears" Jane rolled her jaw and gestured the space around them.

"...Jane, I'm..." Maura closed her eyes, her cheeks red and stained with tears. The words wanted to roll off her tongue and be shaped by her lips, but the strain of her mind, the pressure of the situation hindered them. If she said it, would it appear more like an excuse? Maura sucked in a shaky breath.

Jane spoke almost like a wounded animal.

"Prove to me, your not just toying with me Maura"

Taking in Maura's silence, it stabbed her in the back.

"You won't will you?" she shook her head with a betrayed sneer."It's either me or him Maura" Jane's voice was low and raspy. "What am I talking about?" Jane stopped in her tracks, shoulders slumped and hands balled into fists. "It's gonna be him"

Maura rang her hands, the ultimatum stuck her out upon the ledge of truth.

Jane opened the gate, the tiny weathered hinges croaked out, Maura gritted her teeth and strode forward.

"Jane" her hand snagged upon her wrist.

Jane's heart flickered as Maura's fingers secured her hold.

"You're the one who walked away, please don't walk away this time" Maura's thumb rubbed against Jane's skin in half circles. Jane fixed her eyes aimlessly on the ground, a point of fixation to help aid her senses against Maura's assault.

"Do you want me?" Maura's voice was drowned out by the sound of a three second rumble of thunder, the rain began to fall harder.

"Yeah"

"Then don't turn your back before I have a chance to explain and please believe me, I want you too"

Jane turned and slid her hand up to clutch Maura's.

The rain soon soaked through both women's clothing, Jane couldn't share Maura, as selfish as it was, Hoyt couldn't have her, nobody would touch her again.

"You have to leave him"

"Jane?"

"I'm serious, he's bad, we'll go, we'll leave"

"I can't"  
"I have money..." Jane knew her family needed it, but she could get more, a new job in a new town, they could do it. "Maura, please?"

Maura placed her hand upon Jane's cheek. Their eyes grazed each others, raw and red they both reached a understanding.

"Jane" Maura whispered and stood upon her tip toes to press their foreheads together to give a leverage for a well placed kiss upon Jane's lips.

"We can't go, not yet, it'll look suspicious"

"And you don't look darn suspicious right now?" McRae's voice was thick with a grin.

Jane jack rabbited and stood in front of her, protecting her from view.

"Arrest his ass" McRae motioned to Jane, Frost withdrew a pair of handcuffs from his pocket.

"No!" Maura yelped and McRae advanced to her, his hands ready to hold her back. Frost grabbed Jane's scruff roughly, the cotton of her shirt crumpled into visible creases with Frost's hold.

"Don't touch her!" Jane barked, pulling against Frost as McRae's hand slunk around Maura's right wrist. Her eyes dark with a threat neither men knew the seriousness of.

"What? So you can manipulate her?" McRae's voice droned.

"Manipulate?!" Jane spat, writhing as Frost looped the first handcuff around Jane's left wrist, the metal clanked and clicked as it was tightened.

Jane grunted as it pinched.

With her hands not yet bound by the cuffs, Jane span around and slammed her fist into Frost's jaw. The man doubled over and McRae dove his hand into his pocket to retrieve the pistol that was hidden there.

Jane didn't give him chance.

Her left hand, moulded into a white knuckle fist collided with McRae's nose. The bone snapped under the force and blood sprayed across the Detective's face and Jane's hand. Jane shook her hand, the bones now throbbing.

McRae roared out in pain and Jane snagged Maura's hand with her own bloody one.

"Come on"

"Jane, just come on" she hissed, the use of her name in front of the men was a danger she really didn't want to encounter again.

Jane ran blindly a few metres forward until the barrel of a shot gun crossed her line of sight.

"I don't think you wanna be goin' anywhere" Hoyt's voice was full of a smug slime. "Take your hand off Miss Isles" his thin lips curved into a sneer and Jane let go of Maura's hand timidly. Maura looked between the pair.

"Maura get inside"

"Charles, no..."  
"Do it Maura!" Hoyt snapped and jabbed a finger at her house.

"Don't listen to him" Jane growled and stared at the barrel, a lump formed in her throat. The sound of laboured footsteps sloppily hit the mud behind her and her arms were soon pinned behind her back, twisted like a prezil, McRae's breath was by her ear.

"You're under arrest"

"I thought the handcuffs were just a gift" Jane sneered and the click of Hoyt readying his gun broke their attention upwards.

"No!" Maura witnessed Hoyt's intention, bleeding from his expression down the movement in his hands.

Maura diverted the barrel in a swift shove to the metal and the bang made all four of them recoil in horror.

A dumb silence radiated between them.

Jane glanced a sorry look at Maura, then before her mind could full comprehend her actions, she was running.

There were shouts, the sound of running feet, crashing through brush in Jane's pursuit.

Jane's feet collided with a small stream, her boots were soon waterlogged and sloppy with mud, she stumbled blindly, her panic getting the better of her senses. Hands still bound and her feet doing all the work, Jane battled up stream, to the thicker part of the woodland.

The sound of distant splashing and the loud thunder of voices cut through the air, it screamed over Jane's hammering skull.

"I think I see him" a voice snapped, the snap of parting branches and panting fill Jane's head with a weakness.

Maybe she should give herself up, she would be kill either way.

"Let me do it!"

Jane sucked in a breath, her feet joined with firmer terrain.

"No" Jane growled at herself, her calves already ached with the ferocity of her pace. To her right lay a thinner patch of woodland, to her left a thicker more complex section, guarded by a trench.

It was a momentary decision, but Jane wanted to be lost.

Jane sprinted to her left, she leapt down into the trench with little faith she would land upright.

Her feet slipped down the muddy walls, her back hit some exposed tree roots and one snagged of the cuffs.

Hanging a few feet from the bowl of the trench, Jane squirmed in attempt to break free.

"Come on" through blurry eyes, filled with pained tears and rain, she wrenched her arms, the cuffs nipped at her skin, making it sore and red, angry almost.

"Where did he go?" the thunder of footsteps broke out and paused.

"Look down there" Hoyt's voice was thick.

Jane lay still, her body hung motionless, she trapped her breath in her lungs.

Frost peered over the ledge of the trench, of course his eyes roamed across her form. He hung his arms and his side, upon witnessing Jane's pleading eyes, her body taut like a cornered animal.

His tongue ran along his bottom lip and he glanced over his shoulder. Jane squirmed again, she wasn't taking chances.

"No, nothin'" Frost hollered back and gave her one last, cold stare before jogging back.

Jane relaxed, she hung her head, her limbs weighed down with mud and water.

Under Jane lay a vast collection of brambles and thorns.

Jane scrambled to gain footing against the mud to relive the stress on her arms, but the snap of the tree root changed her fate.

Her body fell into the brambles like a dead weight, she grunted but lay motionless.

She felt her numb face and nose. Jane's nose was crushed, and a trickle of blood dripped from her chin down into the mud under the brambles.

The earlier wound split open again and her cheek was torn by thorns, the flesh hung open angrily.

There she lay, her hands behind her back, her face smothered by the earth and thorns, her clothes bogged in mud.

Jane stayed there until she could collect her mind.

Maura sat upon the porch, her eyes trained on the rain.

She sat ridged, silent in her worry.

Was Jane alive?

The thought sickened her and she turned away from the downpour only to feel the moisture of her own tears replicate the weather.

The men broke back through the woodland, drenched and red in the face.

Hoyt led them, his rifle hung by his waist.

"We didn't get the bastard" he announced, passing Maura and an advancing Slim.

"Who?"

"Damn Rizzoli" Hoyt spat at Slim's feet.

"James? What happened?"

Maura didn't care to re-live the event, she retired to the confines of her house, Hoyt's description was dumbed out by the door slamming shut.

The black cloud had crossed the sky, a blob of dark against the stars. The night was quiet again. Jane stepped into the water and felt the bottom drop from under her feet. She thrashed two strokes across the ditch and pulled herself heavily up the other bank. Her clothes clung to her damp body. She moved and made a slopping noise; her boots squished. Then she sat down, her body sank into the sides of the trench, she was half way up if she were to look at her situation as an optimist, but it seemed irrational to do so.

As a pessimist, she was half way down and never getting back up.

"Maura" Hoyt's voice grazed the walls of the sitting room, she had heard him come in seconds before, but not stirred.

Maura sat with her feet tucked underneath her, her eyes and ears on the white noise of the wireless.

Maura had soon figured it out, her mind had been reeling for hours, why would Hoyt want her so badly that he would kill Jane to get her? Why go to the effort when they are not even public announced?

Hoyt hung in the doorway, a blade in his right arm, his gun at his waist.

Maura didn't turn.

The silver of the metal glinted in the dull light.

"What would you get out of shoot James?" only then did Maura move.

"Why kiss him but promise to be with me?"

Maura rose to her feet, her eyes stern, cold and her mind was collected. "Why?"

"Maura, Maura, Maura, how nice of you to finally join me, you're thinking, I like it"

Maura turned.

She felt her blood run cold when Hoyt notched the door frame with his knife.

"Smart girl" he laughed shrilly though his words.

"Why do you want me?"

The craw of a bird floated in through the gap in the window.

"I don't want you" Hoyt span the knife in his fingers and then pointed it like a finger at Maura's abdomen. "I want that"

**And the plot thickens! **

**What do you think? **


	10. Chapter 10

Jane did not sleep. The nerves of her wounded face came back to life and throbbed, and her cheek bone ached.

The aftermath of her broken nose bulged and pulsed with pain that seemed to toss her about, to shake her. Jane watched the horizon through the canopy of trees, the rain had stopped just after sunrise, Jane had witnessed the stars slide down over the branches and drop from sight to invade her sight in a brilliant sun light.

Jane looked around, her face swollen with her injuries and her tongue leathery against the roof of her mouth.

Birds flew ahead and chirped.

Only then did Jane slip into a comatose state of slumber, while the world woke, she slept.

The crunch of footsteps on branches stirred the woodland.

Shouts erupted from the left side of the trench bank.

"Hella what?" a rough voice called, gritty with smoke.

Another voice responded, but was muffled, only to be ignored.

"Damn gril"

Jane stirred out of her sleep, what seemed like five minuets was actually four hours.

Upon hearing the voice, Jane scrambled from her aching position and tried to fight up the bank.

"What the hell?" the voice was closer, Jane knew whoever they were they had heard her. The footsteps stopped at the edge and a reddened face, beaten by the wind until pink stared down upon Jane.

"What the hell you doin' down there buddy?"

Jane winced and stopped her efforts.

"Having a gay ol' time" she grumbled.

"No need for that, come 'ere" the man crawled down the wall of the trench and was quick to pull Jane to her feet.

"Thanks" Jane mumbled and tugged at the handcuffs.

"Whoa, hey, you ain't no con are ya?"

"Would I tell you anyway?"

"No..." the man trailed off, his chubby features fresh with thought. "Are ya?"

"Could you just help me get outta them?" Jane tugged at hem again to enthuse her point.

"Sure thing, but I gotta take you back in my truck"  
"I don't care if it's a damn donkey" Jane gulped thickly.

"Come along" he scratched at his white, whiskery beard and held Jane's elbow to help her up the side of the trench.

The day was soon alive with the sound of a highway.

"How far've you been runnin'"  
"I dunno" Jane felt her hair mat to her head with sweat, no clouds in sight. "I just know I feel like I'm gonna fall over"

"Don't go sour, my trucks just a second away" the man was clad in a sweat stained shirt, dark patches formed upon his back and under his arms. With suspenders and torn work jeans, he appeared no different from one of the workers back at the ranch.

"You're in a bit of a state"

Jane let him continue to talk and tug her along, his beefy hand began to sweat against the cotton of her shirt.

They both came out of the woodland to the side of the highway.

The highway was edged with a mat of tangled, broken, dry grass. The grass heads were heavy with oat beards.

The sun lay on the grass and warmed it, and in the shade under the grass the insects moved, ants and grasshoppers jumped into the air and flicked their yellow wings for a second.

A dusty red transport truck sat at the side of the road, the _no riders _sticker was peeling from the windscreen. The vertical exhaust pipe muttered softly, and an almost invisible haze of steel-blue smoke hovered over its end.

"It says no riders, but I guess you ain't no normal rider"

"Rider? I'm only coming here to get these things off"

"They're back at my house"

"Hey, you ain't some crazy fella are you?"

The beefy man chuckled, he knew how it sounded.

"Would I tell ya if I wus?"

"Okay, using my own words against me, you are crazy"

The beefy man got in first then leant over to open the door for Jane, it swung open with a rusty groan. Jane got in and the man had to lean over to close it again, Jane pressed herself back into the chair.

"Who's that Pop?" a smooth voice called from the back of the truck, Jane sank in her seat.

"A fella who's in a spot of trouble"

Jane looked straight ahead, staying silent was the best thing she could think of doing.

The motor roared up for a moment, the gears clicked in, and the great truck moved away, first gear, second gear, third gear, and then a high whining pick-up and fourth gear.

The voice called from the back again.

"I'm hungry Pop"

"Yeah, well we're goin' home ain't we"

"Yeah, but can't we stop..."

"Nah"

"Aw, come on Pop"

Jane smirked at the girls protests.

"Nobody got time and you're Mom's got oatmeal"

Jane peered at the fields along the road. Corn had fallen sideways and the dust was piled on it. Little flints shoved through the dusty soil.

For the first time in weeks, Jane felt like she was part of society again, not matter how broken and warped it had become.

After twenty minuets of driving down the stretch, the high hum of the motor dulled and the song of the tires dropped in pitch. Jane peered out the dusty side window. The chubby man got out a pint of whiskey and took short drink. The truck drifted to a stop where a dirt road began. The chubby man got out and stood beside the cab window. The vertical exhaust pipe puttered up its barely visible blue smoke.

"You gonna get out Lucie?" he called to the back then opened Jane's door. "Here you go mister"

"Thanks" Jane's feet hit the dusty ground with a thud.

"Where you run from?" the trio walked down at narrow path.

"Nowhere"  
"You are a con ain't you?" the chubby man elbowed Jane in the ribs, the action hurt her, but she didn't express it.

The man's daughter, Lucie strode beside her Father, her slender figure that of a maturing woman's.

Her hair was tied back and a dark brown, a few strands framed her face and her large eyes looked over Jane.

"A con?" she grinned, her lips pink.

"Erm" Jane winced and the chubby man rolled his eyes.

"We shouldn't pry"

Jane thanked him with a nod and Lucie spied the cuffs.

"You is to a con" she skipped to Jane's side. "You got the cuffs"

"He ain't no con, so don't go pryin'"

Lucie was silenced and Jane shrugged at her.

Walking over a hill, Lucie broke into a steady run.

The small unpainted house was mashed at one corner, and it had been pushed off its foundations so that it slumped at an angle. The fences had been torn from the ground and the cotton grew in the dooryard and up against the house.

The outhouse lay on its side, and the cotton grew close against it. The dooryard was pounded hard by the feet of children and horses.

"Sorry it's so pitiful lookin', damn Feds tore up my farm"

"The Government?"

"Ain't you been around the past five years?"

"Yeah, I've just never... seen it, the farms I mean"

"City dweller are you?"

"I was"

"You wus" the chubby man sighed at himself and a voice called to them. It didn't belong to Lucie, but an older woman.

"Vince! You got Lucie in a darn state 'bout some man, you ain't got a.. oh dear Lord you have" a aged woman stood with a dish cloth in her hand and her apron was damp. Her brunet hair was streaked with silver.

"You better come inside" she smiled at Jane but shot a glare at the man Jane now knew as Vince. Jane walked ahead and heard the couples argument behind her.

"He wus stuck in a trench Mary what was I supposed to do, leave him there?"

"No! Course not! Just don't get Lucie all hysteric"

"I wusn't"

"You were... what's him name?" Mary wafted the dish cloth in Jane's direction as they approached the front door, the paint was chipped and Lucie hung from the door frame.

"So kid" Vince dropped his hand upon Jane's shoulder, she paused her walking. "I never got to introduce myself, I'm Vince Korsak" he winked at his wife, she rolled her eyes and walked into the shade of the house, urging Lucie inside too.

"James" said Jane "I would shake your hand but erm" she nodded to her hands.

Vince gave a raspy laugh.

"Sure! I'll take you to the shed" he patted Jane's back and the pair of them walked across the yard to the 'shed'. Their footsteps crunched against the crumbs of fragmented stone.

"Shed?" Jane glanced at him with an unimpressed stare.

"Feds" he wafted his hand and from the rickety table set out of a patch of dry grass, he picked up a pair of chain cutters. He took the cutters to the chain in the middle of the cuffs and with a sharp snap and clink, Jane's arms were freed. The cuffs still remained on the wrists shortly to be attacked with a screw driver. Jane watched them clink to the floor and Vince twirled the screw driver.

A dull ache invaded her muscles as she bent her arms to regain feeling.

"You look like a darn bruised peach, I'll fix you up with something" Korsak patted her back again and they both took a short walk back around the house and inside.

Maura awoke to a spectrum of shimmering light between her curtains.

It fell upon her line of sight and blotched up her vision with blue dots once she turned away.

Voices were present downstairs.

She could faintly hear two male voices, deep and rough.

Maura pulled herself up into a sitting position and sighed.

Last night wasn't a dream and neither was the aching gash upon her right forearm. Weeping with a clear liquid, the cut had already scabbed over, dried blood rested around it.

Maura examined it and touched it with her finger, she felt it twinge but the pain soon resided.

The blonde rose from her bed and shuffled in front of the standing mirror, resided in the left corner of the room.

Simply clad in a nightgown, Maura opened it with trembling fingers and let it fall from her shoulders. With tired eyes she looked over herself, clad in underwear, Maura eyed her abdomen and rested her hand upon it.

Hoyt was a messed up human.

It didn't take long for Maura for to figure it out, but it was a matter of time until Hoyt came to claim what or rather who he wanted. Maura let out a shaky breath and heard a floorboard creek outside door, it swung open before she could get her nightgown from the floor.

"Good Morning, darling" Hoyt licked his bottom lip, his icy eyes fixed on Maura's exposed body.

"Leave! I'm changing"

"You forget who's the man of the house now, doll" he walked over, his snakeskin boots thud against the wood of the floor and Maura backed away. Her back hit the wall and she whimpered in a plea to a Lord she didn't believe in.

Hoyt's fingers stroked up and down the space from her bellybutton to the edge of her bra. A sneer broke on his lips and Maura shut her eyes tightly, in attempt to find a mental retreat, but his cold touch, the roughness of his fingers penetrated her mental defences.

"No" Maura hissed as his thin, chapped lips met with the flesh of her neck.

"You'll be mine Maura" he whispered against her flesh, his tongue licked her pulse point and the cold twinge of a blade met the bone of her hip. "_All_ of you will be mine"

Maura stood taut under his hold.

"You won't be this hostile, you'll learn, you're good at that" Hoyt kissed her neck again, this time nipping this skin.

Maura yelped.

Hoyt simply laughed at her.

"Get dressed, I'm hungry, I like to watch you cook"

Hoyt then left like smoke, no trace was left in the room indicated that he had just invaded it.

Maura was the only living thing to document the occurrence, in terrified detail. Maura gulped thickly and looked down at where the blade had touched her hip, no mark lay there, but the frost of the blade lingered.

"Where are you Jane?" Maura whispered and fought back a wave of tears.

Jane sat awkwardly in between Lucie and her older sibling, Jason.

The clatter of cutlery was dominant over the hushed conversations shared at breakfast. As much as Jane had refused food, Mary was a hard woman to convince when concerning hunger.

Vince was making small talk over a bowl of oatmeal. Mary was busy aiding a toddler with their food, a young boy of about three giggled to himself.

Jane nibbled at hers, whilst nodding at Vince and his rambling about Roosevelt, she felt Lucie's eyes upon her.  
"Enough of Roosevelt" Mary slapped Vince's arm lightly. "When your finished up, I want you to go and find some clothes for James, look at the state, what have you been up to?" her voice held intrigue beside a stern Motherly tone.

Jane was answered for.

"He's a con" Lucie spoke dreamily and Jane nearly choked on her food.

Mary's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"No, Ma'am, I'm not" Jane spluttered and Vince chuckled, but scolded his daughter of taking their musings into account.

Mary jabbed her spoon at Lucie.

"Don't go making accusations like that young lady"

"I'm seventeen, I ain't young!"

Jane kept her eyes down and ate her oatmeal, she found it hard to believe that such a bland meal provided so much to her knotted stomach.

"You look like you ain't eaten in weeks boy" Vince had finished his food and Jason peered at Jane to check out his Father's statement.

"I've been working hard"  
"That's what you should be doing" Vince huffed at Jason.

"I can't get a job Pop, there ain't no openings yet"

"Openings?" Jane questioned.

"CCC" Vince smiled. "Roosevelt is doing something good with the youth"

"Just last week, the old Bernard's got their furniture back, they had nothing to pay!" Mary happily stated.

"Good points and bad points to everything" Vince nodded and Jane set her spoon down, the bowl clean off all traces of oatmeal.

"Yeah" Jane shrugged and winced as her shoulder twinged.

"I could sort that out for you" Lucie grinned, noting Jane's pain.

"I'm fine, but thanks" Jane held up a hand.

"I'm training to be a nurse" Lucie spoke lowly and Jane flinched as she felt the girls hand rest on her upper thigh and rubbed it.

"I'm learnin' about the human anatomy, female and _male_"

Jane forced a polite smile.

"Vince" Jane spoke a little too shrilly, it gained all of their attention. She coughed as if to clear her throat. "You wouldn't mind erm, lending me some clothes now would you, I'll return them, washed and all, I just want to..."  
"Of course" Mary pipped up and Vince nodded at his wife.

"Will do James, come along"

Jane stood up abruptly, Lucie's hand slunk away.

"Thank you for the meal, really it was the best I've had" Jane aimed her words whole heartedly at Mary.

"You're welcome James"

"A real dream boat ain't he" Lucie blushed after Jane made a swift exit with Vince. Mary frowned at her daughter, so did her brother.

"You're too young for that to be coming out of your trap" Jason warned.

"Oh hush up" Lucie growled.

Vince was busy rooting through a suitcase of old clothes while Jane lingered near the window, peering out onto the yard.

"See if this fits" Vince set aside an ash coloured crew t-shirt, the neck was ripped to gape a little, but Jane didn't mind. Vince then picked out some dark denim chino trousers, ripped and wrinkled, but served a purpose.

"You'll look in shape kid" Vince then examined Jane again. "You might wanna bathe first"

"I kinda smell like a dead goat huh" Jane chuckled to herself and Vince shrugged.

"The bathroom is across the hallway, I'll tell the rest of the family that you're having a nice clean"

"Thank you, Vince"

"No problem" Vince wafted his hand and scratched at his beard whilst walking from the room and back downstairs.

Maura sat watching Hoyt eat, not that she had a choice to leave. Hoyt scrapped his fork along the plate in attempt to pierce a mushroom.

"That dress looks pretty" he spoke after dabbing his mouth with a napkin.

Maura looked down at herself, it was a her prairie dress, it was nothing to marvel upon.

Maura didn't thank him, but nodded.

"Eat, I need you strong" Hoyt motioned to the remaining food in the pan.

Maura was hungry, but would survive a day without food if he was demanding her to eat.

"I don't really want to eat at the moment"

"Liar" he twitched and jabbed his fork at her. "Eat, eat!" he twitched again and narrowed his eyes.

Maura rose from her chair, the legs screeched on the floor. She walked over to the stove to collect a skimpy meal of a single piece of bacon and an egg, the rest had been consumed by Hoyt.

"Eat" he purred and Maura set the food on a plate, only return to Hoyt glaring at her.

Maura did as he wished, but couldn't help but feel the urge to vomit.

Soon after she had eaten and the last of the taste was merely a memory of Maura's pallet. Maura was certain her bout of nausea wasn't due to Hoyt's demand, but her own body working against her.

"If you excuse me" Maura walked unsteadily out of the kitchen and sprinted through the hallway and up the stairs to throw herself into the bathroom. Maura vomited the whole meal back up into the sink.

The door slammed against the wall then groaned closed once more.

Shaking and hunched over the basin, Maura scolded herself for such a display. Running the tap to rid herself of the sight of her vomit, Maura scooped the fresh water in her hands to rid her mouth of the tang of lactic acid.

Hoyt's footsteps soon sounded as they thudded upstairs, the wooden steps creaked.

"I knew you'd have to soon" Hoyt rubbed her back, the action only made Maura shudder and bow her head.

"Please, leave me alone"

"Sure thing, for now Maura" Hoyt stabbed the door frame with his knife and wobbled it until the wood cracked.

"Now you'll eat" he hummed to himself and walked back downstairs and out of the house.

Jane was in the midst of fastening the button of the trousers she'd been given when the door opened.

Turning expecting to see Vince, she was surprised to see Lucie in the doorway.

"You look charming" Lucie walked in and shut the door behind her. Jane looked around and ruffled her hair.

"Are you sure you should be in here? I mean, you're Ma might want you an..." Jane was silenced when Lucie sat on the bed, legs crossed and patted the space beside her.

"What were you arrested for?"

"I'm not a con Lucie" Jane held up her hands to ward off the girl.

"You can lie all you want, I like them bad" the girl winked and Jane flushed.

"_Oh Jesus_" Jane blinked and rested her face in her hand. "Lucie. I. Am. Too. Old. For. You"

"More experience" Lucie stood up from the bed and flushed her body against Jane's.

Jane looked up and the ceiling and tried to move away.

"Lucie, I'm flattered, but _really_, I don't want you to do anything you regret" Jane grimaced at her own excuse.

Lucie just grinned and walked her fingers up Jane's arm.

"You'll break my heart"

"Oh, _okay_, erm, I'm gonna just _go_" Jane franticly motioned to the door and mid stride was tackled into the rear wall. Jane's back thud against the wall and few photo frames rattled.

Lucie crushed her lips to Jane's.

Jane waved her arms around them, unable to place them anywhere, not until she regained some sense and gripped Lucie's shoulders to push her away.

"No" Jane pressed her finger to Lucie's puckered lips. "No" she spoke as if scolding a animal.

"Why?"

"I'm... I have a..." Jane trailed off, suddenly remembering how heavy the situation was. She had to go back and get Maura. She had to go back and finish what she started.

"I have a girlfriend" Jane assured the girl sternly.

"She won't know"

"I'd never betray her." Jane ran a hand through her hair. "Thank you, really" Jane slipped away from the Lucie then out of the room, her stride soon broke into a jog.

"Vince?" Jane trampled downstairs, until she heard raised voices. She stopped and took a few steps backwards so she was hidden from view. With her back pressed against the wall, she listened with a heavy heart.

"I ain't got no fugitive in my house"

"Goes by the name James Rizzoli"

"Ain't got no Rizzoli" Vince's voice was stern.

"Why do I think you're a liar?"

"Because you have no damn sense" Vince barked and the sound of the door slamming sounded throughout the house.

Vince was soon at the foot of the stairs.

"What the hell did you do boy?" he growled. Jane gulped thickly.

"I'm accused of homicide" Jane held her hands out to stop Vince talking. "I didn't kill anybody" Jane's voice cracked, it was the first time she had spoken the matter out loud. "I like... no, I'm in love with a woman who's husband was killed and because of that I'm being blamed"

Vince walked up the steps to stare levelly at Jane, his eyes cold.

"You don't look like a lair, but then again, you look like you have a few dirty little secrets... are you playin' me?"

"I'm not, I need to go back and sort it out, please Vince"

"Call me Korsak, I'll call you Rizzoli" Vince clarified and held his hand out to Jane. "We're in this for the business, ex-Sargent, Detective,Vince Korsak at your side"

"Really?" Jane grinned and took his hand in a firm shake.

"Better believe it kid, I wanna hear about this girl of yours and why I'm bustin' my ancient ass for her"

Jane laughed huskily.

"Trust me, you'll know when you see her"


	11. Chapter 11

**Enjoy.**

The evening set with a pink haze across the sky, clouds rested like smoke across the skyline. Bleeding under them, the purple of night was ever impending.

Twilight was upon the land.

Taking the highway back, Jane and Korsak were crammed into his truck.

The wheels whirred against the dusty ground. The gravel was churned up and spat a cloud behind the truck, almost like a trail.

The windscreen was littered with bugs smeared across as they'd hit the glass days before.

With the windows rolled down to cool them off, the sounds of the crickets by the roadside were blocked out by the gush of wind.

"Who came to the door?" Jane was busy fiddling with the pistol Vince had given her. Her intentions dark, she set on using the last bullet on Hoyt. Her question was almost light upon her chapped lips.

"A skinny fella with a..."

"Frost was with him" Jane cut in and held the pistol to the ever fading light to inspect her work.

"Ironic" Korsak scoffed, he glanced at Jane then back at the road.

"Huh?"

"Frost... frost is meant to be white and that fellas black" he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

Jane shrugged.

"I guess" Jane glanced at the space between them. "What gun have you got?"

"You say it like it's a kinda toy" Korsak huffed and patted the weapon under the blanket. "An old favourite of mine, no peeking"

"Now you're the one making it sound like a game"

"Death ain't a game" Korsak sighed and pressed down harder to urge the truck on. "Seen to many good men in my time get shot down by crooks and gangsters"

"I saw the guy who I supposedly killed, die" Jane bitterly added.

"Ouch" Korsak inhaled in word. "How did he go?"

"He was shot and beaten up, he hated my guts from the beginning"

Jane shrugged and glanced back down to the gun. "I've never shot a guy before"

"First time for everything Rizzoli"

"Last time for them though"

"Good point" Korsak turned onto the gravel track and slammed on the breaks. They screeched and the truck lurched, throwing the pair forward. Korsak caught sight of the police car parked up outside the main entrance of the ranch with it's windows rolled down and lights still flashing.

"Holy shit" Korsak breathed and reversed back onto the highway. "I'm not getting this baby damaged"

"It's a truck"

"The only God damn thing I own to my name" Korsak drove ten minuets more along the road ahead and parked up by the woodland.

"I know a track from here, the back way" Jane pointed though the thinner shrubs to where she had walked weeks earlier.

"Sure? Is it safe?"

"Hell yeah" Jane stuffed the gun into her pocket.

Silence.

The click of the cooling engine was the old sound to fill the air in the cabin of the truck.

"Ready?" with a thudding heart she glanced at Korsak.

"Yeah" he nodded and they both climbed out. The doors slammed with a metal clank and their footsteps crunched along the road.

Maura restlessly moved around, her body in a limbo of wanting to rest and wanting to escape in energetic leaps. Her attention was aroused by anything, the tick of the clock the creak of the rafters. Maura was alone.

In a physical sense she was, but mentally, her demons were playing with her.

Maura tapped her fingers on the wall as she passed. Her legs were shaky with the looming after effect of a sickness, her head pulsed like a heart beat, alas she felt like it wasn't her own.

Woozy and aching, she made her way into the sitting room, only to flop down on the sofa and sit lopsided until the nausea was hindered by a natural preoccupation. No such thing occurred.

Maura rolled on to her side and closed her eyes to drift into a turbulent slumber.

The Salinas River dropped in close to the hillside, a sight for sore eyes.

Jane and Korsak trampled down the path, side by side. The sounds of birds above and the rustle of branches in the cool air carried them. A rabbit skittered across their feet and leapt into the near by undergrowth.

"Did you see that little fella!" Korsak paused and watched after it.

Jane rose an eyebrow.

"It's a rabbit" she spoke woodenly.

"Darn cute is what it was" Korsak adjusted his belt and plodded along. Jane rolled her eyes and subjected herself to a silent stride behind him.

They walked the path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten and worn. Jane felt the metal of the gun prod at her and weigh her thoughts with an outcome.

It was a kill or be killed situation.

"You didn't have to help me" Jane brushed a few leaves of the willow tree away, Korsak shrugged and patted his gun holster.

"I'm glad to be helping someone again"

They walked until the path grew to a hill and overhead glow from the bunk house loomed.

The distant clatter of horses and shouts were carried down wind to them.

Jane was the first to draw her gun.

Korsak glared at the action.

"What?"

"Shh" Jane listened out, with her index finger lingering in front of her lips. Her ears primed to the sound that had struck her.

Jane and Korsak crept up the hill, their advance disturbed the dirt and dislodged pebbles.

McRae stood by Hoyt at the edge of the field. Hoyt watched the sun set and urged the sky to turn blood red. An episode of sparrows flew in and out of the barley, the stalks rustled with their invasion. Hoyt adjusted his cap and rolled a tooth pick between his teeth.

"James escaped" Hoyt spat out the tooth pick and McRae flinched. Hoyt peered ahead.

"We looked everywhere, he's probably long..."

"I don't want you to look for him"  
"It's my job"

"He'll be back"

"For Miss Isles?"

"For Maura, yes"

"So I'll arrest him then"

"Why?"

Hoyt's question dumbfounded McRae.

"... Because he killed Candy and Curley" McRae frowned at Hoyt. Had he lost his mind? Hoyt was the man who had seen it all and ratted James out.

"You've done your part"

"My part?"

"James never touched either men"

"What?! Then who did!" McRae hissed, he glanced around them, they were alone. McRae went to pull out his notepad, he had his hand comfortably inside his pocket when he paused the action to watch Hoyt.

His pulse quickened.

Hoyt pulled his knife from his belt, he examined the blade with an intense stare.

"I did" he smiled and with a swift swipe slit McRae's neck. McRae fell to the earth with a gargle, followed by a thud. A slash so deep it divided flesh and muscle. Blood had sprayed from the wound but Hoyt was out of it's path in an instant.

Hoyt peered at his blade and watched as the blood parted and dripped from it, down into the earth.

"To get my apprentice" Hoyt finalised and slot his blade back into his belt.

He was soon gone.

Jane and Korsak crept onto the ranch. Weapons at hand, they advanced past the bunk house and towards the barn with Jane leading. Crickets buzzed and chirped around them

A bark betrayed them.

Jane jack rabbited, Korsak whirled around with his gun pointed at the advancing figure. Korsak lowered his gun in an instant.

"Ha, it's just a pup"

"Shit, Jo, shoo" Jane jutted her finger away from them, to indicate Jo should leave them, but the pup leapt around her feet nattering in happy yips.

"No, Jo, get outta here" she hissed and voices trailed from the bunk house.

"What's that fucking pup barking at now?"

"Probably a bird, leave it Carlson"

Jane waited until the voices died down to exhale the breath she had been holding.

Jo sat by her feet and Korsak bent down to pet her.

"_Really_? Korsak"

"She's mighty cute"

"Yeah, well, she wont be so cute when I kick her ass" Jane growled at the pup, Jo met her gaze and barked a happy welcome.

"Okay, you can follow just be quiet" Jane hissed to the dog, then pressed her finger to her lips to indicate the dogs required silence.

Jo scratched behind her ear and ruffled her fur.

Jane, Korsak and now Jo all walked past the barn, their footsteps crunched against the earth and the night fell suddenly.

Nearing the fence where the fields rested, Jane growled as Jo bounded forward towards an unknown lump on the ground.

The barley rustled, drawing Jane's attention from the shadowed heap on the ground.

"Freeze!" Frost pounced from the barley, his gun trained on Jane, his eyes wild.

Korsak and Jane both held their weapons at the man.

"Frost?" Jane frowned at the man's ill complexion, even in the moon light he looked sickened. She lowered her weapon and Frost lowered his, almost like a mirroring act.

"I think I know why he's lookin' so green" Korsak winced and Jane turned to look. Upon closer inspection, Jane realised it was a corpse.

"Whoa" Jane recoiled and slammed her body into Korsak's. Getting over the shock, she neared to inspect it.

"How've they not noticed this?" Jane jutted her gun at the body then knelt near it to examine it.

Unable to speak for a moment, Jane set her gun down.

"It's McRae" Jane whispered and prodded his lifeless body. In full rigor mortis, he was stretched back as if to admire the sky. It was the wound that had Jane writhing.

A simple slash rested on his neck, deep enough to have killed him straight away. Looking beyond the flesh and clotted blood, beyond the parted muscle and cartilage, gleaming past the severed lumen of the trachea, the pearly white surface of the cervical spine rested. Jane stumbled back repulsed but transfixed. Korsak seemed just as interested, alas Frost was stood well back, gagging.

"You okay back there?" Korsak glanced over his shoulder and Frost wafted his hand, he soon doubled over and vomited. Jo barked in complaint.

Korsak let out a rough laugh.

"I guess barf boy ain't one for death, you're a Detective son, get used to it"

Jane sniggered under her breath and rose from her crouch.

"Hoyt did this, he's the only guy who would be able to do this with such..." Jane winced. "Precision"

Korsak looked ahead to the house on the hill.

"Is that Maura's place?"

"Yeah" Jane rolled her neck and shuddered at the thought of the blade swiftly ending her life through the simple swipe.

Frost stumbled to Korsak's side, he quickly spat out the tang that the vomit had left and fixed his gaze on Maura's house.

"You aint gonna barf on me are you?" Korsak chuckled again. Jane rolled her eyes and looked Frost up and down.

"Why are you helping us?" Jane's voice was sharp.

"You seem to be the only person who makes sense around here and bedsides, my partner is dead on the floor"

"Make a fair point barf boy"

"Shut it old man"  
"What you gonna do, kill me with vomit? I have three kids, I can handle barf"

"With that belly it looks like you've eaten 3 kids"

"If you ladies are done" Jane snapped and dusted off her hands. "I need to go and save my" the two men held in coy grins, Jane coughed and corrected herself.

"Maura from a psychopath" Jane strode ahead with Jo at her heel.

Frost and Korsak followed.

Pich black. Heading aching.

Nothing made sense, hadn't she fallen to sleep on the sofa?

Her attempt to sit up was hindered by the binding on her wrists.

If only her head would stop pounding.

Maura tried to wriggle her hands from the bonds but also succeed in rubbing her wrists raw.

"Come on" she hissed to herself and jerked hands to see if sudden movement would free her, but this was to no avail.

Her nausea came back with a vengeance. Through it, she tried to recall lost and blurry moments of time. It was a struggle that left her drowsy.

From the darkness a light flickered. Maura attached her eyes to it.

"Hello?"  
"Finally your awake" Hoyt's voice drifted to her.

Hoyt crossed the bedroom, his feet scuffed the wood. Maura writhed. Thud, scrape, thud, scrape, thud, thud, thud, stop.

The bed groaned and the mattress slumped under his weight.

"Don't struggle" he whispered, his voice a slither into the air.

Maura winced and whimpered as she felt his breath on the nape of her neck.

"I just want this" Hoyt's hand rested between her breasts, then ran down slowly, his touch made Maura's skin crawl and her voice to catch in her throat. His palm was cold against the skin of her clothed abdomen.

Another point arose to Maura's mind. Since when had she been wearing her night attire?

"I want you to let it grow, then, then I'll have it"

"Then why tie me up? What's that got to do with it?" Maura snapped back.

"You're a present for my guest" Hoyt heard a thud then crash from the kitchen, his pupils had dilated from touching Maura, his lips had curved into a smile and he licked his bottom lip.

"Who are they?!" Maura spat.

Hoyt rose from the bed and he swiftly exited the room, leaving Maura trembling with anger and fear.

Jane had her back pressed against the wall of the porch.

Her eyes were shut and she tried to calm her breathing. Frost and Korsak had smashed their way into the kitchen as a distraction.

She heard Hoyt trample downstairs and advance into the kitchen, it was followed by shouts. With her pulse racing and her throat dry, Jane reopened her eyes.

_Get in, get out. _

Jane crept in through the front door.

It creaked open, the sound was tiny in comparison to the ruckus in the kitchen.

Jane stood in the hallway for a brief second, Frost caught her eye in the midst of throwing a chair across the room, he gave her a assuring nod that they had him.

Jane nodded back.

Through the dark of the house she crept up the stairs, the sounds of gun fire made her go rigid but she continued.

Her foot collided with the step and her boot made a thud, yet again, nobody seemed to notice. Jane drew her gun and jogged up the stairs, pointing it through the dark just in case Hoyt had a nasty surprise in store for her.

Maura gulped down the lump in her throat, the thought she heard the stairs creek but it was dispelled by the whoosh of her own pulse in her ears.

Maura kicked her legs, but it was stopped by the rope around her ankles. Maura flailed manically, her heart beat thudded louder and faster.

After letting out pained grunts and huffs, Maura lay still, she let her heart calm and the sweat that had formed upon her brow to fade away. She inhaled, the only scents to come to her were that of her own sweat and panic.

Why would Hoyt tie her up?

So she couldn't run away? Probably. It was most likely his logic.

He'd said she was a present.

Maura listened to her own rough breathing and closed her eyes. When her eye lids covered her eyes the sound of something falling to the landing sent her mind whirring.

"Hello?" Maura shouted out, her voice raspy and weak.

The door handle jiggled and the door was kicked. Silence followed then a banging, a palm against wood.

"Maura? You in there?" Jane's voice trailed in.

"Yes!" Maura shouted, she tugged at her binds again.

"Maur, I'm gonna get you out, okay?" Jane voice was soon distant. Maura lay in waiting until a firm bang followed, wood split and the door shuddered open.

"Maura" Jane grinned with relief and jogged over to her. The moon light lit Maura's features.

Jane was quick to untie the binds and scoop the blond from the bed. From behind them, the sounds of the fight in the kitchen grew louder.

"Frost, get him!" Korsak's voice was smothered. Jane glanced over her shoulder then back at Maura.

"Frost is with you?" Maura stood independently until a wave of nausea hit her. With her hands on Jane's shoulders, she steadied herself head throbbed.

"Yeah" Jane spoke shakily and watched Maura intensely. "Can you walk okay?"

"As far as I know, yes" Maura gulped, but was soon hobbling out of the room.

"Maura?" Jane yelped and followed her.

Jane burst into the bathroom, her feet clipped on the title.

Maura was doubled over the sink, vomiting.

Jane glanced around them and kicked the door shut, then proceeded to lock it.

"What's wrong?" Jane's voice cracked.

Maura washed away her vomit and stood up straight only to double over again and empty her stomach.

Jane was soon behind her holding her hair and rubbing her back.

The ritual was natural to Jane, she'd had to handle her Mother's bouts of sickness.

Maura shuddered and let out a wounded sob. Jane closed her eyes and kissed the back of Maura's neck, her lips took in the heat of Maura's skin.

The sound of water hitting the basin filled their silence, just above the water the sounds of the fight raged.

Jane felt her stomach twist, it should be over by now.

It was two men against one.

Maura felt Jane go rigid.

"Help them" Maura's voice was gritty and drained of emotion.

"I'm not leaving you" Jane whispered, her hands were soon at Maura's waist, rubbing circles into her flesh with her thumbs. Jane felt a wave of guilt struck with urgency make her priorities rest with Korsak and Frost.

Maura was right. Jane had to help them.

"Maura stay in here." Jane broke her words with another kiss to the back of Maura's neck. "Lock the door and whatever you do, do not come out until I come back"

Maura nodded, gulping.

"If Hoyt's with me" Jane hissed her words. "I'll knock, if not, I'll just say your name"

A silence then broke them apart.

Jane was soon at the door, her shoulders hunched and in her hand her pistol.

The blond took one last, longing stare at Jane, but only then did they hear it.

"Knock, Knock" a tiny voice cooed.


	12. Chapter 12

Thirst.

Jane stirred, she tried to swallow but she was parched.

She tried to produce a small sound, but her throat was gritty and to dry to let her speak.

One by one, Jane began to register other sensations apart from her apparent thirst.

The numbness of her legs, the tingling in her fingers and the cold, hard flooring she lay sideways on.

A voice called out, urgent and persistent, a shrill sound against her waking senses.

"Jane! Get up! Please!"

Her name wheeled her back to consciousness.

Jane finally opened her eyes, paralysed but aware, she glanced around to try and pin point where the shouting was coming from.

Jane tried to roll onto her back, but she was soon aware her hands and feet were immobilized.

She strained to free her wrists but rope bound her incapable and frustrated.

"Maura?" she finally wheezed.

A chill was sent through her clothes as she heard a pained grunt.

"Maura!" Jane struggled again and gritted her teeth to break free, urgency ignited her skin and sent her heart pounding. Jane witnessed the brass bed through blurry vision, she was laying on the floor at the foot of it.

Her nose was blocked, she could smell blood, a nose bleed?

Jane listened.

Another whisper of a voice, another grunt.

Crying?

Jane was twisting, rolling against her binds.

Jane slammed her hip into the floor and sucked in a pained gasp. She breathed deeply until the pain faded and continued.

This time her face landed against the wood, her lip scraped against it and exposed her teeth to be slammed.

Jane yelped and felt her nose crush against the wood in a rebound.

Fighting tears of frustration and pain, Jane curled up in the fetal position.

Another whimper sounded and Jane rolled to her knees, her face still pressed against the wood and her rear in the air. Feeling the muscles in her stomach pull, she rose to a kneeling position.

Panting she glanced around.

The light was dim and two figures rested on the bed.

A sickening fear invaded Jane's mind.

Hoyt was raping her?

No, he was leant over her, he was... talking?

Jane rested for the next challenge she would surely be facing now she was conscious.

Hoyt wasn't paying attention to her, he was transfixed with Maura.

A sudden thud of footsteps brought Jane's attention to the figure that had walked through the door.

Slim.

Jane stared at him, he stared back, his eyes cold and his face stern.

"Hoyt, she's up"  
Jane recoiled back.

_She? When had Slim know she was not a man? _

Only then did Jane notice her shirt had been slashed open, exposing her stomach and her bound breasts.

"Crap" she hissed to herself and Slim kicked her down with a thud to her chest. Jane landed on her back, winded of breath. Jane lay numb while Slim walked to Hoyt's side. They both stood and talked for moment, the only thing Jane could hear was the rush of her own pulse.

Hoyt and Slim parted, Slim advanced towards Jane, Hoyt tugged Maura into a sitting position. Slim tugged Jane up by the hair and dragged her to sit on the chair Hoyt had been sat on moments before.

Jane's scalp screamed, she whimpered and tried to stand to relive the pain. Her effort was pathetic.

Slammed down in to the chair with her head hung and eyes moist with stubborn tears, she caught sight of Maura.

"Janie" Hoyt cooed and cupped her chin between his index finger and thumb. Her line of sight was forced to rise to his, her neck was forced to be taut and exposed.

Jane let out a strangled cry, panting in panic and writhed as Slim held her down to the mercy of Hoyt's blade.

"Maura I want you to watch, Slim bind Janie so you can make Maura watch" his eye twitched and his voice slithered into Jane's ear. "Say bye Jane"

Jane soon felt his hand snake around her neck and squeeze until she was reduced to whimpering for air and for a voice.

"No!" Maura shrieked out, she struggled against the ropes, the bed creaked and lurched with the force.

"Slim, now!" Hoyt growled and Jane gagged, her limbs were reduced to a spasm.

"Don't" Jane screamed out against his vice grip, her voice horse.

Slim moved over and pressed a gun to the back of Maura's head. Maura felt the cold metal and tensed, her eyes blurry with tears.

She shook her head in silence as Hoyt drew his blade.

"How did-" Jane battled against her strangulation. "Korsak, Frost?" Jane wheezed. She felt his fingers dig into her trachea and suppress them.

"They've been dealt with" Hoyt shrugged, his sliver hair hung down over his eyes.

Slim chuckled and set the trigger, Jane writhed at the sound.

"No!" Jane spluttered and felt the knife pinch at her skin.

Maura wished he'd pull the trigger, to spite Hoyt.

She wanted the bullet to shatter her skull, to let her brain smear against the walls, he wouldn't have her. Alas, it would be a loss of an innocent life for a selfish deed, Maura peered down at her stomach and cursed herself.

"Why... why do you want Maura?" Jane cried out, her vision started to dot over and blur, her lungs quivered.

"Don't you know?" Hoyt played, his eyes black over hers.

Maura whimpered and let out a sob only to be rewarded with a sharp nudge of the barrel against her skull.

"Have you ever wanted kids?" Hoyt trailed off, his blade still pressed to Jane's neck but didn't go anywhere. "Maura is my only hope"

Jane felt her blood run cold, she soon weakened.

"Maura's pregnant Janie" he laughed shrilly and his blade pinched at her skin, Jane soon felt the skin rip open.

"You killed Curley" Maura blurted, distracting Hoyt from his true intention of killing Jane.

"Very good Maura"

"I'm why you did it! I'm the reason Curley's dead" Maura whispered.

"Slim shut her up" Hoyt snapped and Jane jerked her body when she heard Maura yelp in pain.

Jane let out a sob when she felt the blade cross more of her flesh.

"No, Hoyt, don't!" Maura slurred and the bed creaked, Jane knew Maura was fighting for her.

"If I'm going you're coming with me" Jane rasped and kicked her legs franticly into his knee caps. Hoyt lurched back, his body tumbled to the bed and Slim raised his gun to shoot at her.

The bullet missed Jane as she flung herself off the chair and to the ground, her right hip collided with the floor. The chair was tipped and clattered to the floor along with her.

Jane yelled out at the pain as her hip was bruised by the wood, but scuffled to Hoyt. He was already to his feet. Jane noticed his knife had fallen. She leapt to it and desperately snagged it in her hands. Hoyt didn't notice and dragged her up with him by the neck. Her blood stained his hands and it trickled down from the wound. It dribbled through his fingers.

"Shoot her" Hoyt held Jane out at arms length like a meat slab and winked at Maura, who lay on her side on the bed, her right eye swollen shut and already a deep red with a forming bruise.

Jane squirmed but she couldn't free herself from his hold this time.

Slim aimed his gun at Jane's chest and at the moment she was sure Slim would pull the trigger, she slit Hoyt's wrist.

Blood squirted out, it gleamed across Jane's face and hit the bed sheets. Maura knew Jane had severed his artery.

Hoyt dropped her and yelled out in a shrill cry.

Jane fell to the floor as the bullet was fired. The knife clattered against the floor and Hoyt's body fell by hers, the bullet had hit him in the chest.

Jane was quick to recover, panting she stared up at the ceiling.

A few moments pass, the sound of ripping rope broke through the room.

Slim walked around the bed and knelt by Jane.

"How did I do?" Slim smiled down at her.

Jane could only nod in thanks, but his body soon froze. His eyes rolled back into his skull and fell atop of her before he could register his praise.

Jane yelled and stared at the doorway. Harry Witham stood with his gun shakily in his hand.

Jane felt Slim's blood drip onto her bare stomach.

"Get him off me!" Jane wheezed.

Behind Harry, Frost and Korsak burst into the room.

Maura lay on the bed, stunned and breathless, her bonds had been cut, but the burns were still stinging upon her skin.

"Jane?" she whispered.

"Maura? It's okay, it's Frost" Frost smiled down at her and lifted her into his arms.

Jane kicked Slim's corpse away and didn't stop moving until her back hit the bed side table and the lamp fell and smashed.

The room was plunged into darkness for a few seconds before a voice called out.

"What the hell is goin' on?" the light flicked on.

The four of them paused and Jane piped up, her voice shaky. He'd just shot Slim and he was _now _asking what was going on?

"Korsak, just tell him" exhausted she rested her head back on the bedside table and drew heavy breaths.

Dawn rose.

The day was born with a light breeze and little clouds.

The workers had stirred instantly when they heard cars pull up and sirens cut off.

In amongst the crowds of police and workers, Jane, Korsak and Frost were the boldest.

Jane was covered in Hoyt's and Slim's blood as well as her own. Her eyes were red and she had a bandage pressed to her neck.

Frost's clothes were ripped and he was supporting a nasty cut above his right eyebrow.

Korsak looked haggard and was gulping down a glass of whiskey.

The trio were clearing up any tiny details they hadn't shared during the two hours they had spent being questioned. The task seemed almost hilarious to them, after a night of blood shed, they returned to society as murderers.

Jane was covered with Korsak's jacket and gave a crooked smile when Korsak offered her his whiskey when a police officer asked her about her concealed identity.

Jane almost laughed when she told him. She didn't know if it was due to sleep deprivation, the ache in her bones or the fact she was still in a state of shock that made it so easy to tell them everything.

Korsak nudged her when they brought the bodies out of the house. She stopped telling the officer to look.

Jane ran a hand through her hair and sipped at the whiskey.

Covered with white blankets, the two bodies were carted off into a van and soon concealed from prying eyes. The two metal doors clanked shut and a man patted the side of it in signal for it to drive off.

"You probably shouldn't go back inside that house Ma'am"

Only then did Jane burst out into uncontrollable laughter.

"Ma'am? Really?"

Frost chuckled and Korsak shrugged to the officer.

"She ain't slept in 24 hours"

"Or ate much" Frost added.

"It's not like I haven't been in there already" Jane inhaled sharply and stopped laughing.

"That's the point" the officer glanced back at the house.

Jane understood, she'd been the one to kill Hoyt, the person who had severed his artery. She was probably going to get a sentence for it. She'd even gone the whole night without shooting her pistol once. She'd used Hoyt's own weapon against him, that was satisfying enough, the jail sentence didn't seem that much of a threat any more.

"We already informed Miss Isles" the officer tapped his note pad.

"Maura" Jane peered over Korsak's shoulder to spot the woman, wrapped in a blanket stood by herself out of the spot light. "Excuse me" Jane parted the space between the officer and Korsak to walk over to Maura. Her legs were numb, but her mind was perfectly aware of everything she was feeling, everything she would feel.

"Maura" Jane announced, the blonde peered up, but didn't smile, her eyes were soon on the figure approaching Jane.

"Jane Rizzoli?"

"Yeah" Jane was taken off guard, she glanced at Maura, but the blonde was soon walking towards to the field, Jo followed her.

"Lieutenant Sean Cavanaugh" looked her up and down. "I deal with homicide"

"I suppose you wouldn't really fit in here if you were Lieutenant of a muffin shop" Jane's dry humour made the man twitch, but he didn't press her on it.

"Are you here to arrest me?"

"I am" he scratched the back of his neck. "But, I don't really want to"

"Must be my good looks, huh" Jane tried to shut herself up, but she was to tired to really stop herself.

"And the fact you actually took down the most wanted man in the country, I can't believe Harry Witham hired him, I might arrest him for stupidity"

Jane smirked.

"Rizzoli, I want you on my team"

"What?"

"I'm offering you a job, after you serve your time"

"After I killed someone... I am a woman..." she was mumbling.

"I'm gonna make you Frost's partner, he'll teach you the ropes, so will Korsak, if he takes back his post"

"Take it back?"

"He resigned, we've wanted him back for months"

"Yay, it's all working out just dandy" Jane sneered and stretched. "I'll think about it, I guess I have time since I'll be in jail cell"

"Just call me, okay?" Cavanaugh handed her a piece of paper with his number scribbled on it.

"Okay" Jane stuffed the paper into her pocket and Cavanaugh bowed his head.

Jane watched him walk back to the other heads of authority and soon to tell them her charges.

Frost walked over and stood by her side.

"Get some sleep Jane"

"Get some new clothes Frost"

They both smirked at each other, their eyes tired and their bodies slouched.

"You gonna join the police then or what?"

"I guess I don't have a job here any more do I?" Jane glanced to meet the stare of her former bunk mates.

"You'll make a great Detective" Frost rolled his shoulders. "after you serve your time, Cavanaugh will wipe your record, he's an ass hole like that"

"How long do you think they'll put me in for?"

"It was self defence, still murder, but you just slit Hoyt's wrist, which makes you kinda the assistant to man slaughter because of Slim shooting him... about a year if you play the cards right"

"What?!"

"You lucky you ain't getting life"

Jane shrugged sadly and ran a hand through her already growing hair, it was considerably longer from when she'd had it cut.

2 months would see it through. She'd be trying to tie it back back and tame it's wild nature in no time. Jane hugged herself, she looked forward to it.

Being a woman again.

"I'll guess I'll see you in a year"

"See you in a year Rizzoli" he patted her shoulder and walked over to Korsak.

Jane turned and spied Maura resting on the fence by the barley fields.

She walked over and stood by her, Maura looked forward to the ever rising sun.

"You're under arrest?"

"Yep" Jane sighed and also looked ahead.

"You did what you had to do" Maura picked at the blanket.

Jane rocked back on her heels then forward again.

"How long have you known you were pregnant?" Jane patted the fence then peered at Maura.

The blond licked her bottom lip and considered the question.

"Counting the sickness, 5 weeks"

A silence followed, until Jane drew the bravery to breathe again from the news.

"I'm going to miss you" Jane bit on the inside of her cheek to will the tears away, but Maura was ahead of her.

"I'll be around Jane, apparently, so will they" Maura sniffled and rested her hand on her tiny mound of a baby pump.

"That's why you were wearing loose fitting clothes" Jane smirked, her eyes puffy with tears. "I thought you were just getting fat"

"Shut up Jane" Maura wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. Maura bit down on her lip and pulled Jane into a fierce hug.

"I love you Jane" Maura whispered and pressed their foreheads together, aware of all the men around them.

"I love you too M" Jane smiled at the nickname that had aptly sprung to mind and she hugged the blond tighter. Their noses brushed, but their lips never touched.

"I better go hand myself in" Jane whispered and pulled away, walking towards the army of police cruisers, Jane turned just out of earshot of the men.

"Miss Isles" she waited for the blond to turn. "You owe me a kiss when I get back"

Maura giggled to herself and nodded.

"Of course"

**The End? **


	13. Regina

**Enjoy. **

Maura Isles lay upon her front lawn.

Now happily residing in her own home, her own cottage on the edge of a vast woodland. Maura was contented.

Behind her the shadow of her cottage was a comforting refuge from the sun.

It's wooden outer walls, chipped of gloss and weathered, were challenged with obscurity by the large almost industrial iron windows. Maura had commissioned them to be placed at the front of her abode, insisting the cottage had to be light and airy, perfect for a growing child. They had been hard to come by, but not impossible.

The door was covered with the original bug screen used by it's previous owners, to Maura's amusement she had kept it, alas it was much to her baby daughter's torment.

Now coming past her first year, Regina Isles hated the screen. Her mind couldn't fathom how it would appear just as she hit it, but not before hand.

Maura had tried to be there when Regina forced her way outside, but always found herself giggling at the fact her daughter didn't cry when she hit the mesh, but sat in front of it and glared.

These thoughts always caused Maura to grin uncontrollably.

At that moment, the blonde was doing just that.

The summer heat had made the grass yellow and rough, but non the less she lay on her front facing the now stubborn and talkative daughter Regina.

Maura watched her daughter and in turn, Regina watched her.

The pair shared the same hazel eyes and in inquisitive stare.

Regina had curls of dark bronze hair and her button nose was a testament to Maura's genetics, her daughter had gained most of them physically.

"Say Mommy" Maura cooed and Regina responded with a giggle and rolled onto her back. "Or not" she peered over her daughter and wiggled her index finger into her child's stomach to coax a burst of laughter from her.

Maura laughed along with her and Regina grabbed Maura's finger, her eyes wide at the offending digit.

"Prod" she cooed back at her mother and Maura smirked.

"Yes, it's a prod" Maura had learnt to speak her daughters language fluently.

A prod was a finger, a warch was a pain of some description and Muzzle-Me was Maura's name, along with a clicky meaning camera and a doodle meaning pen.

Regina could use simple connectives and ask questions but often found herself reverting to baby babble.

Maura scooped her daughter up and sat her on her lap, facing out onto the flower bed.

"Flowers" Maura whispered. "Say flowers"

"Foogles"

"Flow-ers"

"Foogles"

"Close enough" Maura planted a soft kiss upon Regina's head and let the toddler scramble from her lap and hobble off to inspect the newly pointed out 'foogles'.

Maura watched her daughter as she batted them with her tiny hands and sat down to inspect them.

"Cute" a voice travelled from the front gate. Maura turned her attention to the voice and froze. Long unruly curls were the first physical indication that Jane Rizzoli was stood at her gate. Her dark eyes met with Maura's and glinted in the sun.

Clad in a blouse and trousers, Jane looked high in authority, not imprisoned by it.

"Jane?" Maura crawled up from the grass and stumbled almost like her daughter to the gate.

"Hi, M" Jane leant with her hand holding her head. A bee buzzed past her and cared to make the woman flinch.

"You're late" Maura suddenly blurted, all her preparation for their reunion flew from her mind in an instant.

Jane furrowed her brow, recovering from the bugs assault.

"Hi to you too"

"You were meant to come here when Regina was 3 months old"

"I'm here now" Jane opened her arms in motion around her. The navy blouse exposed her long arms and Maura found herself missing their comfort.

Maura sucked in her cheeks and glared at the woman.

"The last I heard you were going to Boston for a few days and you'd be with me soon" her voice wasn't sharp, it was conveyed in a factual manner.

"I got trapped by a deviant called my Mother" Jane pouted.

"Don't pout at me" she jutted her finger in a stern gesture but Jane lowered it, by pinching her finger and closing it into her palm.

"Don't shout at me then" Jane added and Maura pressed her hand to her forehead, she closed her eyes for a moment then reopened them.

"If you are trying to get rid of me closing your eyes and wishing it's a bad dream isn't gonna help"

"Oh shut up Jane" Maura huffed and soon smirked. It had been the last thing she'd said to the woman.

"Funny" Jane trailed off in mock thought, she had remembered too. "Now this is the point when you're supposed to kiss me"

Out of the corner of her eyes, Maura witnessed Regina tormenting Bass.

"Hold one second" Maura held her finger up and turned to her daughter. "Regina, no" she applied firmly and the girl took two steps back from the tortoise, a guilty glance at the ground insured Regina knew what her Mother was talking about.

"You got a turtle?"

"Tortoise" Maura corrected. "Regina calls it a turtle too, it's a land dwelling creature, not a sea..." Jane rolled her eyes and captured Maura's lips with hers in an instant. Maura's eyes fluttered shut and her hands wound around the back of Jane's neck. Her fingers ran up into Jane's hair and pulled her closer. Their lips clumsily connected in pecks.

Jane found the gate a considerable barrier, so just held onto it while her lips worked on the blondes.

Regina broke them apart by a soft.

"Eh?"

Maura pulled away with a smirk, she traced her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue and let out a raspy chuckle, whilst fixing her gaze on the gate before meeting her daughter's.

Regina pottered over with a confused stare on her button features.

"Muzzle-Me, who?" Regina patted Maura's leg to insure the woman's attention.

Jane rose her eyebrow at the child's random selection of words, but soon grinned at her once Maura scooped her up and cradled her so she could look and inspect Jane.

"This is Jane" Maura introduced the pair. Regina stuck her lip out and frowned, a expression that was common upon the child's face.

"Jaannee?"

"Say Jane" Maura urged her daughter, Regina screwed her face up in thought. Jane aided the proses.

"Jay-n,e"

"Ja" Regina proudly stated and Maura laughed in triumph. "At least she said that"

"I'm just that brilliant" Jane winked and Regina grinned at her.

"Ja" she prodded Jane's shoulder.

"Yes, I am the entity known as Jane" she chuckled and Regina clapped.

"Emphnmy"

Regina pouted at her failed attempt at mimicking the larger word.

"That's not fair" it was Maura's turn to pout. Regina seemed more attracted to how Jane said things than how she said them.

"Because your child instantly loves me?"

"Yes" Maura peered down at Regina, who was soon distracted with her own tiny hand than anything else.  
Maura held her daughter with one arm and quickly unclipped the gate with her hand to let Jane in.

"Just to let you know" Jane whispered in to Maura's ear as they walked towards the house. "I love you more"

Maura blushed and set Regina down so she could walk to the house at her own pace.

"I've missed you, so, so much" Maura purred at cupped Jane's face to kiss her longingly upon the lips. Jane wound her hands around Maura's waist and moaned to feel the woman against her again.

"Uh-huh" Jane groaned and broke the kiss only to intensify the second.

Jane ran her tongue along Maura's plump bottom lip, only to be hindered in her pursuit of intimacy by a background noise.

'Thud/rattle'

The pair were pulled apart instantly by the sound.

Regina made a irritated gargle and crossed her arms.

Jane watched the bug screen rattle and soon pieced together that Regina had walked into it. Jane laughed airily and Maura slapped her arm, chuckling also.

"It's not funny"  
"Why are you laughing then?"

"It's because she always does it and never learns" Maura walked from Jane to her toddler and crouched by her. Jane watched with soft eyes as Maura explained in the simplest way she could to her daughter about the bug screen.

By simplest way, it was the Maura way.

"Metal mesh" Maura patted it to make her point. "Stretched in a frame of wood designed to cover the opening of an open _door_ or_ window_"

"Leaving out connectives doesn't make it any easier to understand" Jane called out and joined Maura in the explanation, still chuckling.

Jane prodded the mesh and simply stated.

"Prod, push, walk"

"You've been here five minuets and you're taking over" Maura mocked and Regina resorted to sitting down, not really interested.

Maura and Jane examined each other.

"Did you take the job?" Maura finally spoke whilst she rose to her feet and opened the bug screen. Ahead of her Regina toddled down the corridor.

"The police? Yeah, yeah I did"

Jane glanced around them. The walls were a dark turquoise, upon them lay pictures of Maura's parents and Regina as a baby. Jane stopped by it and smiled. To the right of the hallway the sitting room resided, it was connected by a sliding door.

At the end of the hallway a small staircase sat, under that a store cupboard.  
"She's cute" Jane tilted her head, examining it as if it were art.

Maura stopped and nodded.

"She is" Maura licked her lips only to remember how they had felt upon Jane's. She missed it already, but Jane was with her, she could soon retrieve the sensation again.

Jane turned with a smile.

"She's prefect, but then again, so's her Mom"

Maura rolled her eyes and pressed her hand onto Jane's chest.

Maura walked Jane into the wall so her back was pressed against it. Maura pressed their bodies flush together and kissed Jane softly. The sound of their rushed pecking filled the hallway.

"_Jane_" Maura kissed her way from Jane's lips and down to the woman's neck. Maura then kissed her fluidly and roughly upon her lips, rushing her tongue to brush against Jane's.

"I've missed you" Jane husked against Maura's ear and slid her hands down to hold her firm by the rear. Maura gasped, her lips parted over Jane's to let her heated breath roam over Jane's skin. Jane fought through a clouded mind to stay focused.

Maura was forced on her toes due to the sudden position Jane had created.

"We don't have to have a physical connection to say how much we missed each other Jane" Maura whispered.

Jane faltered for a moment, Maura knew how the sentence had sounded so kissed Jane again to urge them on.

"But I'd like to see what I've missed out on" Maura purred and nipped at Jane's bottom lip. Jane wasn't mistaken that Maura's words were desperate and tailored in a fine suited seduction.

"When does Regina go to bed?" Jane lolled her head back onto the wall and let Maura graze her lips, underneath she felt Jane's raging pulse and desperate gulps to supply her with air.

"Now" Maura pulled back and took two painfully large steps back, her shoes clipped on the hard wood floor.

Jane's expression was almost the picture of separation anxiety. At that point, Maura seen it enough in Regina to know when it was shown by a vulnerable adult. The blonde bit down on her lip, casting Jane a dark, lustful glance she skipped off to go and find her toddler.

Jane moaned in frustration and let her body indulge itself in the numbness Maura had created.

Her legs were too shaky to even let her move down the corridor and up the stairs, she stayed put in fear of falling flat on her face.

Jane gulped and tried to compose herself before Maura's return, but just found it harder and more strenuous on her physical and mental being.

What she would do to that woman when she returned would probably put her in jail for another year.

Jane wanted to kiss Maura so hard that her lips would bruise, hold her so tight she'd have to ask permission to breathe.

Jane knew she wanted Maura and if she really thought about it, Maura wanted her to.

Maura was to smart to let it show half the time, hiding behind her facts and figures, Jane wanted to expose her and get past the coos, the hurried 'I love you' and wanted Maura to show it.

Jane wasn't letting her slip away this time, Jane wasn't going to leave Maura or abandon Regina if their relationship went sour.

Jane loved every fibre that was Maura Isles and that how she wanted it to stay.

The clatter of Maura's footsteps brought Jane from her thoughts.

Jane pounced.

The taller woman trapped Maura against the wall and kissed her roughly, so hard that she was sure their skin would fuse if she tried hard enough.

"I want you" Jane growled and Maura whimpered, her legs were soon useless.

"Have me" Maura groaned as Jane fixed her lips on Maura's neck, her hands began to slip under her dress. Jane's left hand lifted Maura's thigh and wrapped it around her waist. Maura decided she wasn't going to leave it to Jane.

Maura ran her nails into Jane's hair and she chuckled with a husk that matched Jane's.

"I love your hair"

Jane pulled away and peered at Maura.

The pair stood panting, staring at each other.

"Jane Rizzoli, don't you dare leave me, ever, ever again" Maura panted, her lips soon swollen. Jane pulled her close an inhaled the sent of mango upon her flesh, her nose was pressed into her flesh.

"I'm not moving unless you say so" Jane felt tears well in her eyes, their longing had built up to much emotion for Jane to handle.

Maura lifted her hand only to drag her nails up into Jane's blouse then cup her heaving breast.

Jane felt the ache in between her legs throb when Maura groped her breast.

"Bed room" Maura purred and kissed Jane, running her tongue against Jane's, their nerves were burning with electricity. Maura let out a moan of frustration as Jane nipped at her lip. "Now"


End file.
